Way of the Dragon
by TheBrassyLassy
Summary: Jinlong knew very little of death. She was young, she was reckless, life seemed everlasting. It was not; Jinlong faces death, stares it in the eye. Until she doesn't. Suddenly, she's alive, in a different realm, finding ninja and making friends. But something is wrong. Her people are dying, and only the Way of the Dragon can save them.
1. A Kid From Kigana

**Ight let's do it. So I'm really not proud of this story; I only wrote it because my irl friend(KitKatTheCrazyFangirl) asked me to, and I wanted a practice story to get into writing full-length stories. Anyway, yes, KitKat did come up with the idea for this story, but I majorly changed it(which is probably why I don't like it). And I might someday rewrite it, with an actual plot and half-decent writing, instead of just Ninjago-with-a-dumb-dragon-added. But, uh. Enjoy, I guess! **

**(Updates every day)**

**Announcer voice- Today on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong faces certain death and the destruction of everything she's ever known! **

**Jinlong voice- Episode One: Enter the Dragon**

* * *

Jinlong yawned, stretching out her arms, blinking her blearly, dark-green eyes, her pointed fangs visible in her wide mouth. Her round, youthful face was still grimy from last night's game of tag, but she had no intention of washing it.

"Aha, she awakens!"

The dragon-girl grinned toothily at her older brother, Dalong the Big Dragon, after she finished yawning. He stood over his sister's pallet on the wooden floor, smiling. "It's about time you got up, sleepy."

"Why didn't you just wake me up earlier?" Jinlong asked, playfully pushing her brother aside as she stood, her voice like running water.

"Ask Maolong, I tried! You sleep like a mountain."

The younger laughed, running her fingers through her messy, bright gold hair, which reached down to the back of her knees. She really needed to start braiding it before she went to bed or something, since she had lost her brush a few weeks ago.

"I'm going out for a swim," Dalong told her, heading out of their family's wood-and-sheepskin hut. "Get dressed and you can eat breakfast, alright?"

"Alright!" Jinlong called, tossing her white and gold qipao over her underclothes. The dress wasn't so long that she couldn't run, but it wasn't so short as to be considered indecent. The golden parts, lining the edges and sleeves, were shimmery and apparently had real gold woven into them. After brushing a few bits of dust off of it, Jinlong slipped on her woven-fiber sandals and went back to attempting to comb her mess of hair.

Then she heard screaming.

_Oh no_, she thought, jolting upright. _They're attacking!_

Logically, Jinlong had no reason to assume that _they _were attacking. Sure, dragons were screaming, but it could have been another training accident or fishing mayhap, not the literal physical manifestation of evil invading the island.

But no Changing Dragon screams like that over a simple accident.

Shifting into the white-scaled, gold-maned dragon that she was, Jinlong dashed outside and was greeted with the worst sight of her entire 14 years of life.

Death. Never before in her life had Jinlong seen a dead dragon, but there, on the blood-stained grass, was Malong the Horse Dragon, her chestnut scales dyed a deep crimson around the horrible gash across her long body.

Retching, shuddering, Jinlong could not turn away. She'd known Malong all her life, the Horse Dragon would play with her when she was little, she'd taught her how to run, she'd given her rides...

"Jinlong! Get out of here, now!"

That was her father, Langlong the Wolf Dragon. It was disrespectful, she knew, but Jinlong did not look at him nor obey. She couldn't...not when Malong was there, dead, unburied, unmourned-

"RUN!"

A sudden force slammed into her side and Jinlong stumbled, her clawed paws awkward when holding up her lanky body. She tore her eyes away and saw her father, who'd shifted into a dragon, growling at her.

A wretched snarl caught her attention and she looked behind her to see-

No. That wasn't possible. They weren't supposed to be able to reach them on Huan, the island was supposed to be an eternal sanctuary from all of Kigana's evils.

Jinlong blinked, the- the _things _came closer, growling and snarling, brandishing spears and pikes. Her father leapt at them, teeth flashing and claws tearing, and the dragon-girl snapped into action, leaping into the air and zipping through the trees surrounding the village. She was very young, especially for a Changing Dragon, and so could only fly a few feet off the ground, but she still made it to the other side of the island in less than 10 minutes.

The majority of Huan's residents were gathered on the beaches on the west side of the island. The only way to get up or down from them was by taking the secret path from the cliffs that surrounded it, or flying. Jinlong did the former, shifting into a human and sliding under the bushes that concealed the sandy trail.

"Jinlong!" She heard her mother cry. The dragon-woman, Tianlong the Heavenly Dragon, ran up and embraced her, tears falling from her black eyes. "Oh, _Jinlong_…"

Absently hugging her mother back, the golden-haired girl scoured the beach, watching as Changing Dragons gathered the large sampons that had been stored there. She saw her sister, Maolong the Cat Dragon, and her two best friends, but...

"Mother," She asked, stepping back. "Where's Dalong?"

More tears, and a doleful, keening cry. Oh. Oh _no_.

"Mother, he's not...he...I was speaking with him! Mere minutes ago, Mother, he-" Jinlong wheezed, her vision blurring. "He can't be dead." Her voice cracked over the last word.

"They're here!" Shuilong the Water Dragon gasped fearfully, pointing to the high cliffs above them.

Dragons screamed, shifted, shoved sampons- small boats with shelters- onto the ocean and ushered others in. All the while, creatures of shadow flooded the beach, stabbing and slashing indiscriminately.

Jinlong stood at the water's edge, facing the towering monsters. Her hand slipped into her qipao pocket, fingering the little 2-inch dagger she always kept on her, as a good-luck charm. Its handle was made of pure gold.

"Jinlong!" She heard her mother scream. "Get away from _them_!"

Them. The ones who'd killed her brother and likely her father, if they'd made it so far. Why even bother calling the beasts _them _anymore? After all, it was only as an extra precaution to avoid drawing their attention to the island. But since it had clearly failed, why not call them by their real name, the ones young dragons dared each other to say at night- _Oni_.

Snarling and teeth clacking, one of the monsters turned its attention to Jinlong. She stood there, stiff as stone, her tiny dagger clutched tightly in her hands, the gold seeping into her hands, flowing up her arms, into her pounding heart.

Then, the oni charged. Jinlong lunged forward at the same time, burying her dagger in the beast's eye, a surreal and high-pitched scream of pain echoing through the natural amphitheater the cliff created.

There was a flash, and a sickly ripping sound. Then she was staring, somehow at the clouds in the early-morning sky. An odd, detached feeling floated through her, as then she was looking down at her gold-freckled face and she understood.

There was a gaping, bloody hole in her chest. The oni had impaled her. The scream had been hers. That meant she now was dying, her soul on its way to the departed realm, to be reunited with her brother and father.

Her father...her father was there! Yes, she was certainly dead now. But...but there was pain, bright, acute pain in her chest, in her lungs as she breathed. It felt as if it was actually going _through _her chest, like-like…

Jinlong wheezed, head spinning as she was vaguely aware of someone setting her down inside the shelter of a sampon.

"...impaled, probably punctured a lung," Someone, likely Yaolong the Herb Dragon, was saying. "There is nothing I can do."

The dragon-girl blinked, feeling oddly nauseous. There were other voices, but she couldn't make out the words. She couldn't- she couldn't...she needed air, but…

"Jinlong, stay still, calm down…"

Calm...she couldn't be calm! Her chest burned, her throat clicked, her hands clenched and unclenched. She was _dying_, for Half Child's sake, she was too young to die, right? Death only came to the old and the ill, and Jinlong was neither. But Dalong...Dalong. She wanted her brother, his strong, comforting arms, but something was wrong. He was...he...

In a wave of peace, all went mercifully dark.

* * *

**Announcer voice- What will become of these displaced dragons? Will they be able to survive on the open sea? And is Jinlong going to live? Find out next time on Way of the Dragon!**


	2. Dragon in the Ninja's Den

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong awakens in a different realm with no memory of how! What will she do?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter Two: Dragon in the Ninja's Den.**

* * *

Jinlong, in her 14 years of life, had done some fairly strange things. She'd nearly drowned in sand(thanks, Shashe), swam to the middle of the ocean(with the help of Shuilong, of course), and once even punched a bear in the face(there...there was no explanation for that one). But never in her life had she woken up in a different realm.

Of course, it didn't look like a different realm at first. Lying on her back, all Jinlong could see was the cloudy sky above her. But when she sat up, she knew something was really, really wrong.

First of all, she was seated between two wooden buildings, on a cold grey floor like rock. Huan had no such flooring, and their buildings were much more spaced out. Second, there were people. As in humans. As in _not Changing Dragons_. She could smell it, even from far away in her human form, that the inhabitants of this strange place were not dragons. They smelled too mild, too young. Dragons, at least Changing ones, smelled ancient, deep, dark red, and distinctly stronger than humans.

"Oh no…" She groaned, cringing. "What have I done this time?"

_Well, it _might _not have been me_, she quickly thought, thinking of how angry her mother would be when she found out about this...this situation. _In fact, it almost certainly was not. It was likely Maolong or Senshe...perhaps even Lulong. But certainly, most definitely, not me._

Since it had been decided that this odd predicament was not her fault, Jinlong felt she could now get on with figuring out _what _exactly said predicament was. She stood up, brushing off her qipao, which she was disappointed to see was very dirty, and even torn a bit at the bottom.

"Great," She muttered. "Mother will _never _let me do anything again when she sees how dirty I am."

Of course, Jinlong would be able to talk her way out of anything worse than a few days' grounding. But before she could do that, she needed to actually find her mother. Cautiously stepping out of the alley, the dragon-girl sniffed the air, her sensitive ears carefully listening for any signs of where she might be. Mostly, the overwhelming scent of humans, smoke, and dust filled her nose, and the too-loud sound of chattering and wooden wheels, her ears.

Taking a few more steps away from the place where she'd awoken, the dragon-girl wondered if she should ask someone where she was. It seemed like a fine idea; after all, Jinlong _was _a dragon, and according to her lessons, humans respected and feared dragons. But...some of them, like the ones on mainland Kigana, hunted them. A sudden shudder ran through her- what if she was on the mainland? These humans would not hesitate to kill her, since she had no elemental power for them to exploit.

_Alright, in that case, I will _not _be asking for directions. I'd best just avoid these humans altogether, in fact._

Deciding to just make a run for it and see where she ended up, Jinlong pivoted and was about to take off in the opposite direction, when a hand grabbed her wrist. Naturally, she screamed. Very loud.

The hand immediately fell away, and Jinlong spun around, dark green eyes wide in fear, fangs bared. _I don't want to die, not yet, not at a human's hands…_

"Are you alright, dear?" The presumed owner of the hand asked. She didn't look evil, or like she had any intention of killing and eating Jinlong. In fact, the woman didn't look like she'd be killing anything anytime soon. She was old and bent over, with a weathered face that held only a kind knowingness.

"I-I...uh, y-yes," Jinlong managed to force herself to say, though she was shaking like a leaf.

"Ah, good," The woman replied. "I'm sorry for startling you- you just seem a bit lost."

_Curse old people and their uncanny ability to read minds_! "I, um, actually am rather lost. Could- could you please tell me where I am, ma'am?"

"This village is called Yame," The old woman said. "The nearest village is Jamanakai Village. Is that where you're from? That is an awfully long way to walk."

"Yes- well, no, actually, but-...perhaps?" Jinlong internally winced. That was it. She'd just sealed her fate, and now she would die.

"Ah, I see," The older commented, nodding wisely in the way elders do. "In that case, my dear, maybe you'd be interested in this flyer I found? I've been saving it for the right person."

Since she decided that screaming '_I'm not a person!_' would promptly result in her death, Jinlong forced her shaking hands to take the folded piece of parchment from the old woman's. Carefully, she unfolded it, and read it over. She had only limited success with that, because she could only read in the ancient language of Kigana, which she realized was what that writing style must be based on, because she could make out quite a few words.

Then it hit her. There was only one place whose writing was based on Kigana's, and if her studies were anything to go off of, then she was in some serious trouble.

Looking up, the dragon-girl addressed the old woman in front of her, "Ma'am, we wouldn't happen to be in Ninjago, would we?"

"Of course we are," The woman answered, looking a bit confused. "Where else would we be?"

"R-right," Jinlong nodded, her vision blurring slightly. "Right, silly me. Heh heh…"

_Ohhhh no. This is _so _bad. So, so very bad..._

"So, do you think you'll go and ask for the job?" The old woman asked, snapping Jinlong out of her terrified thoughts.

"Yes," She said absently, still drowning in utter horror. "Yes."

"Wonderful! I'll walk you to the monastery's steps, but unfortunately, my old knees can't make the climb anymore. In my youth, I'd visit nearly every day, with the other children. There was this peculiar boy who lived there, with a green streak in his hair...but I digress. Come along, darling, it's this way."

Still shaken, Jinlong trailed after her, looking around with wide eyes. The buildings were wooden, tall and painted in bright colors. There were people, but they all looked very similar to one another: light brown skin, dark hair and eyes, no fangs. In Kigana, everyone's human form looked wildly different, even if they were related. But she wasn't in Kigana. She was _in a different realm_.

"Ah, here we are," The woman said, and the dragon-girl looked up. There was a wide stone staircase that was carved into the mountain, winding up and up until it passed through the gathering clouds.

"It's...so tall…"

The old woman nodded, before turning to Jinlong. "Now, dear, I don't believe I caught your name."

_Yes, I am certain you did not because I did not say it_. "Oh."

The elder stared at her, expectantly, and Jinlong internally cringed. What even passed for a name in Ninjago? Jinlong the Gold Dragon? Not likely.

"Uh...Jin?"

"Do you have a last name?"

Desperately, she looked at her feet, as if they would save her. "Shoe…?"

"Jin Shu? What a nice name," The lady said. "I am Mrs. Akiyama."

She forced a smile. "Thank you, for walking me here. I'd best be, uh, going now. That is a lot of stairs."

"Yes," Mrs. Akiyama agreed. "Oh, and please say 'hi' to Wu for me. It's been a while since I've seen him."

oOo

Jinlong reached the top of the stairs, gasping, soaked, and shivering. It had started raining only a few minutes after she started climbing, and she'd only just gotten above the clouds.

"What am I even doing?" She muttered. "It's not like I even _want _a job."

But luck seemed against her that day, and before she could decide what to do, the massive gate in front of her swung open, revealing a short, pale, gangly teenager with red hair, freckles, and electric blue eyes.

"Hey," He greeted. "Who're you?"

"Uh, J-Jin Shu," The dragon-girl stuttered, bowing briefly. "I'm...here because of this flyer."

She held out the flyer- which she didn't even know what it said- to the boy, who was probably 15, maybe even 14.

"Geez, kid, are you cold?" The boy asked, suddenly sounding concerned. "Your lips are blue! Here, come inside. Sensei'll kill me if I let you die of pneumonia or something."

Jin didn't quite know what 'pneumonia' was, but she didn't want to die, so she followed the teenager into a courtyard, then into the monastery itself. Immediately she was greeted by the sight of 4 other teenagers and a very old man.

"I found her outside," The first boy said to the rest. "She wants to be our dragon-sitter."

Was that what the job was? Didn't sound too bad, actually.

"Really? _Her_?" A boy in red, taller than the first, with tanned skin, spiky brown hair, and almost-red auburn eyes asked.

"Kai, don't be rude," The only girl admonished. She was tall and well-built, with a short bob of black hair, eyes like the ocean, skin the same color as 'Kai' and strikingly similar facial features. Siblings, maybe.

"What?" Kai defended. "She doesn't really look like dragon-sitter material, Nya."

"I dunno," The tallest and bulkiest of the bunch said. He had dark skin, thick black hair, and warm brown eyes that looked kinder than Kai's. He also looked to be the oldest, 16 at the most. "She seems tough to me."

"Regardless, we should let her try," Said the final boy in a monotone voice. He was tall, taller than Kai, with the palest skin Jin had ever seen, platinum blond hair, and ice-blue eyes. "It would be unfair not to."

"Who gave this to you?" The old man asked, gesturing to the flyer. He had a long white fu manchu, smoke-grey eyes, and wore a bamboo hat.

"A lady called Mrs. Akiyama," Jinlong said. Then, as an afterthought, "She says hello."

The man, presumably Wu, nodded slowly. "And you wish to become our dragon-sitter? What is your name?"

"I-I am Jin Shu," She said.

"I'm Jay," The first boy said.

"Nya," The girl dipped her head briefly.

"My name's Cole," The tallest one said.

"I am Zane," Said the blond one.

"Kai," Huffed the red one.

"Pleased to meet you all," Jinlong bowed.

"And I am Sensei Wu," The old man said. "Cole, would you please go get our dragon-sitter a pair of overalls and rubber boots?"

"Sure thing, Sensei."

"I-I got the job?" Jin asked, eyes wide. Wu only nodded.

Curse old people and their enigmatic ways.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: The monastery burns! How? And will Jinlong be able to get out? Find out next time on Way of the Dragon!**


	3. Burning of the Monastery of Spinjitzu

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong tries to escape a burning monastery! But how did it catch fire? Who is to blame for this?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter three: The Burning of the Monastery of Spinjitzu.**

* * *

Jinlong had never really considered herself a fast learner, but within 5 hours of getting her first real job, she had already learned a _lot_.

First of all, she wouldn't be going home anytime soon, seeing as the 4 dragons she'd been charged with couldn't make a portal to Kigana, because they'd apparently never heard of it.(What kind of dragon didn't know about the _land of dragons_?!) Jin tried to explain what it was, but apparently, it wasn't enough. She also learned that Dragon-Sitting was much harder than actually _being _a dragon. And, finally, she learned that teenage boys did indeed have massive appetites, just like her mother always said. Luckily she didn't have to cook for them, or clean up after.

A few days after she'd gotten the job, Jin was washing down the ice dragon, Shard, with cold water when she heard footsteps pounding down the stairs that lead to the dragon cabinets.

"Huh?" She asked, poking her head out. "What's going on?"

"Lord Garmadon's attacking Jamanakai Village!" Nya told her, following behind the 4 boys with Wu.

_Helpful_, Jin thought, once more frustrated with how little she knew about Ninjago. Such had been a common occurrence recently.

"What are you going to do?" She asked.

"Stop him, of course!" Cole cried, mounting the lighting dragon, but dropping what appeared to be a golden scythe.

"What's this?" Jin asked, picking it up with some difficulty. It was _heavy_, and despite what everyone said and her thin arms, she was pretty strong.

"Hey- don't touch that, kid," Cole said, snatching the scythe back, although he gave no explanation as to why.

After the 4 struggled onto their dragons, shiny golden weapons and all, they took off, albeit clumsily.

Nya sighed. "Will they ever reach their full potential?"

"In time," Wu said. "Maybe a long time, but in time."

"Uhm," Jin stared at both of them, wide-eyed. "'Full potential'? What is that? And what were those golden weapons? And-and why are they going _towards _danger? Why were they in those suits? Have I missed something here?"

"You didn't know?" Nya asked. "They're ninja."

"_What_?"

"They're ninja. You know, like the ancient warriors."

"Come, Jin," Wu said, seeing the girl's confusion. "I believe I have some explaining to do."

oOo

"Alright," Jin said once they'd been seated inside the monastery. "So, they're ninja. As in Shinobi. As in weapon wielding, butt-kicking fighters."

"Yes."

"And this explains the suits and gold weapons?"

"Not exactly," Wu explained. "Long before time had a name, the First Spinjitzu Master created Ninjago using 4 elemental weapons. But when he passed, a dark presence set out to collect them all- Lord Garmadon. So I, his brother, sought out to find 4 ninja to collect them first, for I knew that if these weapons- the Golden Weapons- fell into the wrong hands, it would spell the end of all that is good."

Jinlong blinked. She'd gotten stuck on _First Spinjitzu Master_. Who was that? What was Spinjitzu?

"Oh," Was all she could say. "So...you trained them?"

"I did, and still am," Wu said, nodding and sipping on a cup of tea.

"Good...job?"

The old man laughed quietly for a second, before becoming serious and looking Jin in the eye. It was then that the girl noticed his eyes- the exact same shade as smoke, filled with wisdom and knowledge from many years, but also great sadness and suffering.

"I feel there's something you're not telling us, Jin," He said kindly. "Is something troubling you?"

Now, at that moment, Jinlong wanted _so badly _to tell the old man of her predicament. That she was stranded and homesick, with no way to get back. That she was a dragon. But, something stopped her. Likely self-preservation, although her mother always said how she was lacking that.

"No, sir," She lied. "Everything's fine."

"Please," He said, standing up. "Call me Sensei."

oOo

Later that day, when the boys- ninja, Jin reminded herself- arrived back, they told some crazy tale about a kid who'd escaped his boarding school and tried to demand candy from the villagers.

"What did you do with him?" Jin asked absently, tying her hair back with a piece of twine to go to her evening chores.

"Hung him up on some sign-post," Jay said. "Kid had it coming."

"That's...mean," The girl muttered, walking towards the door. Once she was outside, she spoke louder, although just to herself. "I hope he's alright. He was probably hungry if he wasn't at his school."

All through her chores, and there were quite a few, Jin talked to the dragons, and herself.

"...and I'd like to think I'm finally their friend, you know? I do try and speak with them. I think I like Zane and Nya the most, and would very much like to be their friend." She rambled on as she fed the dragons, each with their own special kind of food.

"_Of course you're their friend,_" Shard said in her calm, cooling voice.

"_And you're our friend, too!_" Rocky, the earth dragon, added.

Jin smiled. "Thank you. I do want to go home, though. My family must miss me."

oOo

The next few days were exciting- at least, for the ninja. Apparently, that kid they'd dealt with earlier had gone and awoken some ancient race and terrorized the village. They'd chased him off, again, though. Jin still felt bad for him, to be honest.

Speaking of feeling bad, the dragon also was sympathetic towards Zane. He was odd, sure, but the other boys constantly reminded him of this and laughed at his quirks(although, admittedly, some of them _were _funny). And, that night, they'd laughed at his pink apron(once more, kind of funny) and ended up throwing the food he'd made at each other, rather than eating it. A mess that poor Nya was tasked to clean up. Jin felt so bad that she volunteered to help.

"I don't know," She told the dragons the next morning, opening their stable so they could fly around and she could clean. "Maybe that's how it's just done in Ninjago."

"_You really miss your home, huh_?" Wisp, the lightning dragon, asked sympathetically as he flew out.

"Yes," Jin sighed, getting a pushbroom. "I do like it here, but...it's so different, and it does nott have my family. Or my friends from Kigana."

"_Well,_" The fire dragon, Flame, said. "_I'm sure you'll get home eventually_."

Jinlong wondered about that as the dragons flew off and she started sweeping. _Would _she ever get home? Honestly, the dragon dreaded the thought of living in Ninjago for the rest of her life, but...what was she supposed to do? She'd never been taught to make a portal, and she was still too young, so she couldn't generate enough power.

As she thought, voices- odd, slithery voices- slowly floated down the stairs.

"Are you ssssure we're ssupossssed to do thisss?"

"Of courssse. Don't you trussst me?"

Jin frowned, setting her broom down. That didn't sound good. Both curious and suspicious, she began to creep slowly up the stairs, peeking over the last few. What she saw nearly took her breath away.

"What in all of Kigana..." The girl breathed, peering up at the creatures. "First Dragon, I think they're _snakes_."

Unfortunately for Jin, they were snakes with exceptionally good hearing, so talking really hadn't been a great idea. She was made aware of this when all the snakes, about 10 of them, turned their heads towards her simultaneously.

"Creepy," Jinlong said before getting up and bolting back down the stairs. She dashed into the empty stalls and grabbed the most lethal-looking object around.

"Back, overgrown lizards," She yelled, swinging her pushbroom around. "Stay back!"

"Hey!" One of the advancing creatures yelled back. "We're sssnakes, not lizards!"

"You have legs," Jin said, whacking them away with her broom. "Therefore, you're lizards!"

Now, the dragon would've liked to say that she easily defeated the lizard/snake-people with nothing but a broom and her wits. But no. In reality, she was quickly overpowered by the sheer number of them.

"H-hey!" She shouted as her hair was yanked back and her pushbroom wretched from her grasp. Jin struggled, put up the best fight she could, but she was bound to lose. Then- _WHACK_!

Everything went dark.

oOo

_The smell of ocean water and the feeling of gentle, rhythmic rocking was all there was for Jin, until, slowly, voices started drifting into her consciousness._

_"How's...better? ...woken up at all?"_

_"No, sh...same..."_

_Then, with tremendous effort, Jinlong opened her eyes to see a beautiful woman with long, dark hair and tears on her cheeks._

_"Mother?"_

_Then, once more, there was nothing._

oOo

Jin woke with a gasp and immediately started coughing. She couldn't breathe, there was too much smoke, a- wait. Smoke?

The girl squinted through the smoke-induced tears and realized she was still in the dragon stable, but she was tied up. And there was fire. _Curses._

"H-help!" Jin screamed, trying to get her lungs to work through the thick smoke. "Help me!"

She didn't hear anything, save for the fire, so she tried again, louder this time.

"Hey! I-I'm down here! Help me, please!"

For at least 5 minutes, Jin screamed for help, her throat growing rougher and the smoke thicker until she could only cough, wincing at the heat.

_Well_, she thought, half-delusional. _I suppose this will be my grave._

Then, she heard voices. Familiar, teenage voices. Sounded like they were...yelling apologizes? No matter. Jin didn't intend to get cooked alive in a dragon stable. At least, not yet.

"HEY!" She screamed, forcing her voice to work. "HELP!"

Footsteps pounding down the stairs again.

"Jin!" Someone, probably Kai due to the redness of the blur that said that, cried, running forward and hauling her out into the open. The girl gasped, oxygen flooding her lungs, which just led to coughing.

Once she'd gotten her breath back, Kai untied her and the girl choked out her thanks.

"Don't mention it, kid," The spiky-haired boy said, but he was already heading back up the stairs. Reluctantly, Jin followed, and gasped once she saw the monastery...or rather, its remains.

"I-it was burnt," She gasped. "The- snake people," She must sound _crazy_.

But, oddly enough, no one seemed surprised or in disbelief. Just...sad.

"Hey," Jin coughed. "Where- where's Zane?"

No one answered her.

"Guys...?"

oOo

Jin frowned, although it wasn't because of their meal of mud newt. She was worried- _really _worried- for Zane. She hadn't gathered much information, but it'd been enough to deduce that, one, he wasn't dead, and two, he probably wasn't coming back. What in Kigana could have happened? The ninja had seemed as close as brothers.

"Not bad, for something that lives underground," Cole said, clearly trying to be optimistic. Jin admired that.

"Remember, we must be thankful for what we still have," Wu said, although he was obviously saddened.

"What do we have?" Cole asked, his optimistic facade dropping. "Our home is gone."

"You know, I don't miss our home," Kai said. "What I really miss is Zane."

"Yeah. I miss Zane."

"Zane?"

Jay looked at Nya. "Yeah, Zane. You know. White ninja? The smart, strange one?"

Nya shook her head, a smile breaking across her face as she pointed. "No- _Zane_!"

They all looked and, sure enough, there was their friend, walking towards them.

"Zane!" They all cried, running forward.

Jay sighed in relief. " Zane. We're so sorry for everything we've said. We're a team and that means we're all responsible."

"You don't need to apologize to me," The pale boy said, shaking his head.

"But what about all those awful things we said? Isn't that why you left?" Kai asked.

"Of course not," Zane said. "I saw the Falcon again and I followed him."

"That's our Zane," Cole said, hugging the taller boy, which prompted everyone(save for Jin, who was standing awkwardly to the side) to do the same.

After a little while more of them hugging and laughing in relief, Zane said, "Come. I want to show you what I've found. I think you will all be pleased."

And that was how the ninja, Nya, Wu, and Jin found out about their new home- a beautiful, large wooden ship with red and gold accents. Jinlong _loved _the color gold.

And, that night, as they all ate pie together(after getting the dragons settled), Jin decided she loved all of them, their goofy bantering, their endearingly awful manners, and their rough-around-the-edges love for each other. She loved them. Even if the feeling was not reciprocated.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Jay's parents are attacked by snakes! Can the ninja do anything to stop this? Can Jinlong? Find out next time on Way of the Dragon!**


	4. Snake Fist Fighter

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: The four dragons must leave! Will Jinlong be able to stay with the ninja, or will she strike out on her own? Find out today!**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter Four: Snake Fist Fighter.**

* * *

Jin had never moved houses before. She'd lived in a hut with her family her entire life, so when the ninja and co moved into the ship- called The Bounty- it was all very new for the dragon-girl. She learned that she'd be sleeping inside(she'd slept in the dragon stables before, although it had been her own choice), sharing a room with Nya.

"I know you like sleeping by the dragons," Kai's sister told her. "But with the Serpentine on the loose doubled with the outdoor dragon pens, I think you should sleep inside for now."

Neither fo the girls had a bed, but Jinlong was used to that. In Kigana, she'd slept on a pallet, so it really wasn't that different for her. Sharing a room with Nya was kind of fun, though, because they'd stay up and talk about literally anything on their minds. Well, not anything- Jin was still, for reasons unknown to her, keeping her dragon-ness a secret.

But apart from that, everyone spent their time cleaning. The ninja complained about it at first, until they found out how to use their powers to make it go faster.

"Lucky..." She'd muttered, still stuck with a mop and bucket of water. Even as a dragon-sitter, she'd been forced to clean, which struck her as massively unfair.

And, on top of all the cleaning she had to do, Jinlong also had to try and get the dragons used to their new home. The 'stables' they'd found really weren't all that great, but they'd have to do, at least for now. But the dragons weren't adapting too well, at least in Jin's opinion.

"Sensei," She called, wandering around The Bounty. "Sensei Wu?"

Eventually, she found him in The Bridge, looking over a scroll, written in some language indecipherable to her.

"Sensei," She said, stepping into the room. "I think there's something wrong with the dragons."

"What do you mean?" He asked, looking up from his scroll.

"Well, none of them are eating," Jin started. "They're all running a fever, and they won't respond to commands."

"Are you sure that they are not just adapting to their new surroundings?"

"Well, no," she said. "I'm just worried, is all."

"I'll look them over," The old man said, rolling up his parchment.

"Thank you," Jin told him, following him out of the room.

oOo

"It is as I suspected," Wu said once he'd inspected the dragons. "The dragons are molting. They're shedding their scales."

Jinlong frowned and opened her mouth to speak, but Jay, who'd just walked out with the rest of the ninja and Nya, was quicker.

"What's that supposed to mean?"

"Every adolescent Dragon goes through a transformation before it becomes an adult," Sensei explained. "We must allow them to migrate east to the Spirit Coves for their transformation."

At the same time Jay asked if they'd ever see them again, Jin asked, "What're the Spirit Coves?"

"It is hard to say, but we must allow them to follow their path," Wu told Jay, before saying to Jinlong, "The Spirit Coves are where the First Spinjitzu Master first came to what he would make into Ninjago."

Jin nodded as if that made sense, then frowned. "If the dragons are leaving...I suppose I'm no longer needed. C-could I go with them?"

"I'm afraid not," Sensei said. "The Spirit Coves are a place humans are not meant to walk."

_But I'm not human_!

"B-but what about the First Spinjitzu Master?" The girl protested. "He _created _it, and he was human!"

"No, he was not," The old man said mysteriously.

He wasn't a human? He had come to what was now Ninjago from somewhere...perhaps the Realm of Oni and Dragons, the first realm? It was entirely possible, but he obviously had the power of creation, so...could he have been a Changing Dragon, like herself? Or maybe he was the Half Child, the creator of her species, holding blood of both oni and dragons.

"Jin, would you like to come?" Wu's voice cut through her thoughts.

"Huh? Go where?" _The Spirit Coves_?

"To visit Jay's parents," Kai said. "We were just talking about it."

"Oh," Jin frowned a bit. "Uh, sure..."

oOo

After a long and painful goodbye to the dragons, the ninja and co. were off, as were the dragons.

"Of all the days to lose our ride," Jay complained. Jinlong just sighed, walking in the back with her arms crossed, next to Cole, who also seemed saddened by the loss of Rocky.

"That flute," Zane said, pointing to the intricately painted flute that Wu had been playing. "You've never told us why it was so special."

"Long ago, there were many flutes," The old man started. "They were created to combat the Serpentine and drive them underground. But, over time, Ninjago has forgotten its ancestor's wisdom, and now this is the only one."

Jay rolled his eyes. "I get the lesson: respect your elders or else suffer the consequences. Boy, you guys are laying it on thick!"

Jin looked to Cole, "What is he talking about?"

"Who, Jay?" The shaggy-haired teenager chuckled a bit. "His parents called him the other day and we made him promise to visit them. He doesn't want to."

"Why not?" Jin furrowed her blonde eyebrows.

Cole shrugged. "I dunno."

The dragon thought about that. She didn't know any of the ninja too well yet, but she knew Jay was loud, talkative, and funny. Maybe his parents thought he was a goof-up? That was kind of relatable...but it didn't seem like a reason to avoid seeing them.

"Wait, something's not right..." Jay said, stopping abruptly. Jin looked up to see they had arrived at a place called "Ed and Edna's Scrap and Junk". He'd been born in a junkyard?

"What's wrong?" Nya asked.

"It's quiet," Jay said, pulling his hood over his face, prompting all the other ninja to do the same. "My family's never quiet."

He ran into the junkyard, everyone else close behind, and towards what looked to be an old refrigerator(Jin was fascinated with them). He kicked it open to reveal his parents, bound with duct tape over their mouths. Well, Jin assumed they were his parents. They were certainly old enough to be.

"Sweetheart," The woman exclaimed when Jay took the tape off her mouth. "You came!"

"What happened? Who did this?" The blue ninja demanded, taking the tape from his father's mouth.

"Oh, you gotta get outta here," The grey-haired man said. "You should've come, its the sssnakes!"

"The bite of the Fangpyre," Wu noted. "Once they sink their teeth into it, they can turn anything into a serpent. It's only a matter of time before the transformation is complete."

Jinlong winced as Jay's parents stepped out of the fridge. Turning into one of the snake people? That sounded awful.

Then, a giant, monstrous structure came moving into view, along with a few red-and-white snake people, accompanied by a horrific, nasally hissing that made Jin cringe.

"Is that wrecking ball looking at me?" She heard Cole ask, clearly joking, although the...wrecking ball, if that was what it was called, did indeed have a ghastly green face.

"Duck!" Jay screamed, and suddenly, someone tackled her to the ground, out of the path of the wrecking ball. Coughing and blinking through a flurry of dirt, Jin realized it was Nya.

"Thanks," She gasped, getting up. "I owe you one."

"Lloyd!" She heard Wu yell. She turned to see that, on top of the 'house' of Jay's parents stood a little boy, around 9 or 10, along with a hideous, 2-headed snake-person.

"Hello, uncle," The boy called out smugly. "Looks like we're not the only family reunion. I'm glad you brought the ninja- I could use some help taking out the trash! Muahahaha!"

The green-eyed girl snickered at the boy's 'evil laughter'- was he being serious, or joking? It was hard to tell.

"If we want to turn your parents back, we need the antivenom from the staff," Nya told Jay, pointing at the 2-headed snake's golden stave.

"Second dose- to the dirt!"

Unsure of who exactly had said that, Jin dove to the ground, but the impact from the wrecking ball still sent her flying a few feet. She quickly stood back up, albeit a bit shakily, to hear Kai say, "Easier said than done sis. We're a bit outnumbered."

"Nobody messes with my family!" Jay cried, running towards a group of snakes, nunchucks swinging, to do one of the coolest things Jin had ever seen. He spun around once, and a bright, electric blue tornado of electricity enveloped him, still heading towards the snakes. When it hit them, it sent them flying.

Jin's mouth dropped open as the 3 other ninja did the same- Kai's was red and made of fire, Zane's white and ice, and Cole's was brown and made of dirt and rocks.

_That. Has got to be. One of the coolest things of all time!_

But Jin didn't get too much time to gawk- more disturbing hissing snapped her from her thoughts and she realized she was surrounded by snakes.

"Oh," She said, sliding into a fighting stance. "Hello. I assume we can't be friends?"

She was proven correct as a snake charged at her, fist raised high, but she dipped under its arm and kneed it in the ribs, before spinning around and socking another in the face.

"Boy," She remarked, dodging one snake's kick and elbowing another in the gut. "I forgot how much fun this was!"

Of course, it wasn't as fun when she herself got decked in the face, causing her eyes to water even though it hadn't hurt _that _bad.

"Stupid snake," She hissed, kicking it in the chest before following up with an uppercut and kidney punch. Assuming snake-people had kidneys. She hoped so.

She was so wrapped up in fighting that she barely heard the kid- Lloyd- yell "RETREAT!" She probably wouldn't have even noticed if her enemies didn't start running towards the exit.

"They're getting away with the staff!" She heard Nya shout as she rejoined the ninja and co.

"There is still a way to catch them," Wu said, stepping forward. "Part of reaching your own full potential is understanding your weapon's potential. Once it is in tune with a focused heart, its secrets and powers can be unlocked."

"Ugh! This is _not _the time to be cryptic!" Jay yelled.

"He's saying our weapons are vehicles themselves," Zane said, calm as ever, looking at his shurikens.

Kai frowned, staring at his katana, "Don't tell me I have to ride this thing like a broomstick..."

Jin snickered and Kai grinned at her, but Sensei just said, "Jay, concentrate on unlocking your golden weapon. Let your heart guide you. Imagine you're taking flight."

The freckled boy stood still, quiet and thoughtful for once, before a bright blue airship manifested around him. His eyes, the same color as his ship, shot open.

"Whoa," He exclaimed. "Did I just do that?!"

Jin was too intrigued by the airship to even notice that the other ninja had also made their own vehicles until they sped forward after the snake-people.

"Does your flute turn into anything?" Jin numbly asked, staring at the ninja's quickly-disappearing vehicles.

"I wish," Wu sighed.

A honking to her left startled her out of her stupor.

"Hop in," Jay's dad, Ed, told them, sitting in what Jin guessed was their car.

So, they all piled in, with Nya driving and Wu, Ed, Edna, and Jin in the back.

"Who're you, ssssweetie?" Edna asked.

"I, uh, I'm Jin," She stuttered as the car raced after the ninja, immediately giving the dragon motion sickness. She'd never been in a car before. "I'm their Dragon-Keeper."

She was so dizzy and nauseous she didn't even realize that they no longer had dragons.

She looked up to see a blue dot falling from the sky, screaming, and realized it was Jay.

"I got 'im," Nya said, expertly timing the speed of the car to the speed of the falling ninja so he landed, surprisingly unharmed, in the front seat next to Nya.

"Ooh, I _knew _I liked thissss girl," Edna said.

"Attack!" Someone called, and only then did Jin notice that the snake army had turned itself around and was now charging at them.

"Oh gosh, oh golly, oh," Ed muttered before yelling, "Get in, boys!"

The 3 teenage ninja piled into, or rather, onto the car as it sped away.

"We need to get back to headquarters!" Jay told the black-haired girl.

They got there quickly, and swiftly ran onto the old ship.

"Come with me," Nya told Ed and Edna, herding them below deck. Everyone else, Jin included, ran into the Bridge.

"Man the stations, everyone," Jay called as he ran over to 'the button', which he'd been working on for a while now.

"I've been waiting for this," He said, slamming his fist onto it. Nothing happened.

"They're gaining on us," Kai yelled nervously, looking out the window with Jin.

"Ugh, I don't get what's wrong," The blue ninja yelled, clearly frustrated. "I spent forever on this thing. It's supposed to work!"

"Uh, son? Maybe I can help."

Jin turned around and saw Ed, who no longer looked like a snake, standing behind his son.

"Dad," Jay exclaimed. "You're okay!"

"You're darn tootin'," The older man chuckled, before kneeling down next to the button. "Oh, yeah. Uh-huh. That should do it. Try now."

Jay hit the button once more, but this time, Jin felt the ship shift in the sand, before a loud roaring filled her ears and she stumbled back as the ship left the ground.

"Whoa," She and Nya simultaneously shouted.

"A flying ship," Cole laughed. "_That _is pretty awesome."

_Flying_?

Sure enough, when Jinlong looked out the window again, the ground was far beneath them. She couldn't hold back a laugh of disbelief.

_We're actually flying- _I'm _flying_!

She could, of course, fly when she was a dragon, but not nearly so high or fast. Dalong could, though, and would let her ride on him. But at the thought of her brother, a sudden sadness washed over her, driving the strength from her legs and air from her lungs. Something was wrong with Dalong. But what?

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong meets a new friend! But is there something else to him that she cannot see? Find out next time on Way of the Dragon!**


	5. Kid with the Golden Aura

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong meets a troubled kid, but there's something different about him. Who is he?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 5: Kid with the Golden Aura**

* * *

Once they'd deemed it safe to return Jay's parents to their house, there was the matter of Jinlong's fate. She couldn't continue to be a dragon-sitter with no dragons, but Wu said it would be cruel to just kick her out while Ninjago was in a crisis. So she was stuck doing chores. Chores which, as she soon found out, were made exceptionally difficult by 4 teenagers in bright colors.

"I don't understand," The dragon-girl complained as she and Nya cleaned the dining room after breakfast one morning. "How is it even possible to get more food on the floor than in your mouth?"

"Trust me, they find ways," Nya replied, sounding as exasperated as Jinlong felt. At least there were two of them- it made cleaning go by significantly quicker. Probably, anyway. Jin hadn't ever cleaned the dining room before.

"Apart from cleaning, what do you like to do?" Jin asked after they'd finished the dining room. Nya shrugged dismissively.

"Not much. Just normal stuff."

Jin frowned. That sounded like something she'd say, not someone who wasn't hiding who she was. _What _she was.

"Do you train? I noticed you kicked some serious snake butt the other day."

The black-haired girl shrugged again.

"Not really," She said. "I mean, every now and again when the boys let me, but for the most part I leave them to themselves."

After a few moments of silence, Nya added, "Do _you_ train?"

"Uh, well, I used to," Jin said, before quickly turning the conversation back to Nya. "Do you have any hobbies?"

"I like mechanics," She said. "And foreign languages."

"Foreign languages?" The dragon repeated, interested. "Are you fluent in any?"

"Well, besides Ninjagian, I'm fluent in Polski, Nihon, and Viet. And I'm working on Gaeilge."

Jinlong blinked. "Wow, that's...really impressive."

Nya just shrugged again. "Thanks, but it comes pretty easy to me. And it's not like it's a very useful skill to have, either."

"It might be very helpful someday," Jin offered, beginning to walk towards the stairs to the deck. "Maybe you'll meet someone who can only speak Polinski-"

"Polski," Nya chuckled.

"Yes, that's what I said. And then you'll be able to talk to him and the ninja won't!"

Smiling, the black-haired girl shook her head. "Yeah, maybe."

Jinlong returned the smile, then dashed up the stairs to the main deck, ducking just in time to avoid getting kicked in the face by a familiar red foot but tripping over a box a second later and ending up on the floor anyway.

"Oh, sorry," Kai said, not actually sounding all that remorseful but offering her a hand nonetheless. Jin took it and the red ninja immediately went back to talking with the other 3 ninja. "Since the Green Ninja used fire, that means I'm the Green Ninja!"

"What are you _talking_ about?" Cole demanded. "He had incredible strength to lift the cargo, so it's obviously me!"

"Um, excuse me, but he was using nunchucks- _I _have nunchucks!" Jay nearly yelled.

"What are you all talking about?" Jin asked at the same time Sensei Wu walked onto the deck.

"Since you are not training-"

"I was training!" Jay cried, jumping into a fighting stance.

"...you must have already found the answer to my riddle. What is the best way to defeat your enemy?"

"Uhh...the best way to defeat your enemy is to...train?" Kai guessed, shrugging.

"Feeble and incorrect!" Wu cried. "Maybe more training will help you focus. A sharp mind can be a greater tool than a sharp weapon." As he said that, he walked down the stairs- backwards, to Jin's utter amazement- and the doors slid shut right as he finished talking.

"How...how does he do that?" The dragon-girl asked, wide-eyed.

Of course, no one answered her, just kept talking amongst themselves. Jinlong frowned.

"Fine then," She muttered to herself, storming off the Bridge. "More cleaning it is."

oOo

A little while later, Jin was crouched down on the windowsill of the large, circular window high on the wall of the Bridge, attempting to scrub the grime off without pushing herself off the sill. Of course, her efforts to not fall off were in vain. When the Bounty's alarm went off, Jinlong jumped out of her skin and off the windowsill, landing hard on the wooden floor below.

"Ow..." She complained as the ninja rushed into the room.

"Break it down for me, sis," Kai told his sister.

"Lloyd's overtaken Darkely's Boarding School for Bad Boys," She cried, pointing to it on a map.

_What kind of name is Darkely? _Jin wondered, marveling at how different names in Ninjago were from in Kigana as she stood up and dusted herself off. Judging by the looks on everyone's faces, though, it wasn't a very good name, anyway.

"That school is a cesspool of crooked, misbehaved kids," Jay complained. Cole shrugged, mouth in a straight line.

"Doesn't mean they don't need our help," He said. "Step on it!"

They lurched off, and Jin went back to cleaning. The ship, she figured, must have been very old because it was _filthy_. Even with all the cleaning they'd been doing, there was grime and dust and sand in every nook and cranny. Then again, that could just be that the ninja, save for Zane, were slobs.

When the ninja returned from the boarding school, a new voice floated down the hall to reach her sensitive ears, high-pitched and vaguely familiar.

Peering around the corner, she spotted a short little boy, wearing a black hoodie and trousers. A few wisps of blond(almost golden, like her own) hair stuck out from under his hood, and he had bright red eyes, which Jin thought must be unusual for humans.

"Who is he?" She asked, stepping into view. "I mean, why is he here?"

"He's Sensei's nephew," Cole told her. "Lloyd Garmadon. I think you've seen him before."

"Oh…" Oddly, Jinlong felt drawn to the boy, even though his arms were crossed and he was staring tearfully into a corner. There was something about him- some sort of aura- that felt...golden. And Jin loved gold.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time on Way of the Dragon: Lloyd and Jinlong get to know each other! Will they get along? Find out tomorrow on Way of the Dragon!**


	6. Warriors Two

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong and Lloyd get stuck together for a day. Will they learn to be friends, or bitter rivals?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 6: Warriors Two.**

* * *

Knitting was a lot harder than Jinlong had anticipated. Between the loops, switching hands, and casting offs, she couldn't quite figure out what she was doing. Nya had been nice enough to suggest that Jin gave it a try, and provided her with knitting needles and some yarn stolen from Jay.

Still, though, she was really impatient.

"Stupid yarn," She growled. "Why won't you _work_?"

With a huff, the dragon-girl set her half-finished project on her pallet, where she'd been working, and stood. It was probably about lunchtime, which meant cooking, which meant something _besides _knitting.

"What's _wrong _with you?! Why do you _always _have to be this way?!"

"_Me_?! I didn't do anything!"

Having lived with them for a while, Jinlong was fairly used to the ninja's bickering, so she thought nothing of it. Until, of course, she saw Lloyd, grinning in a way that made her think of cats and gremlins.

"Lloyd?"

The boy's head snapped up to look at her. His bright red eyes held vertical, slit-like pupils, much like Jin's own.

"Yeah?" He challenged. His teeth were sharp, too, like Jin's. Was this boy a dragon?

"You started their argument, didn't you?"

"Nuh-uh!" He said instantly, shaking his head, but he shifted his weight and his eyes flickered down ever-so-slightly. Jin stared at him, reminded of when she was in his position herself.

oOo

_Maolong the Cat Dragon and her mother, Tianlong the Heavenly Dragon, stood disapprovingly over Jinlong, who was just 7._

"_Did you break your sister's perfume bottle, Jinlong?" Her mother asked sternly._

"_No," The little dragon said, although there was an oil stain on her qipao and her hands smelled strongly of flowers._

_Tianlong sighed, her smooth, beige skin shining in the afternoon light. Her long hair looked dark in the sun, but in the moon it shimmered silver._

_Maolong, who was 8, was dressed in her tawny qipao and had tears in the corners of her eyes. "That was my favorite possession, Jinlong! Couldn't you have asked for help getting it from the shelf?"_

_Jinlong would never know how, but her orange-haired sister could always make her confess out of guilt._

"_I did it," She hung her head and admitted. "I'm very sorry, Maolong."_

oOo

"That's not very nice," The golden-haired dragon-girl told him. Lloyd ducked his head.

"It's not _my _fault," He almost whimpered. "Uncle told me to!"

Just as he was mentioned, Wu stepped into view and the ninja's arguing ceased.

"I hope this has taught you all a lesson on the destructive power of lies," He said.

"That was a pretty lame lesson, Sensei," Kai's voice was just as unimpressed as his expression. Usually, the ninja didn't dare insult Wu's lessons because the next day's training would be _brutal_, but Jin had learned that Kai was the kind of kid who forgot what was good for him.

Surprisingly, though, Sensei didn't appear offended. "Yes, well, I seem to have misplaced my lesson book…"

Naturally, all eyes turned to Lloyd. Naturally, said gremlin turned to dash away, but unfortunately for him, he was on a ship of highly-skilled teenage ninja, and was quickly apprehended.

"You mean _this _book?" Cole asked dryly, pulling a leather-bound tome from Lloyd's hood.

"Aw, man," The boy groaned. "I would've gotten away with that!"

Suddenly, the alarm blared to life and, after unceremoniously dropping Lloyd, the ninja raced off to the Bridge.

"Ow," Lloyd complained, getting to his feet. His uncle was unimpressed.

"By the time I get back, I expect your messes to be cleaned up," Wu told him. Lloyd seemed to deflate.

"Don't worry, I will help," Jinlong offered.

"Really?" The distrust in Lloyd's eyes stabbed the dragon-girl right through the heart.

"Of course," She said.

oOo

Within 30 minutes, they'd done all they could. Jay and Kai had been made apology cards, they'd done the dishes for Zane(since it was his turn that night), and they'd _wanted _to make a cake for Cole, but neither had the ingredients nor money.

"We could buy 'im a cupcake," Lloyd suggested. "Like, just one cupcake."

"That's not a bad idea," Jinlong admitted. So, they sauntered off the Bounty and into town.

After wandering around the market for a while, the duo had yet to find any baked goods for sale, let alone cupcakes.

"Let's just get 'im an onion or something," Lloyd muttered. "Or a rock."

"No, we'll get him something a little nicer," The dragon-girl insisted. And so, the last of the ninja's money was spent on a can of peanuts.

oOo

"I'm _bored_."

"I know."

"Where's Nya?"

"I _do not _know."

Lloyd sighed melodramatically from his spot on a chair, where he lay upside-down. Jin set her knitting needles down and decided to humor the boy.

"Let's go snoop through your uncle's room."

The younger's face lit up faster than Jinlong would have thought possible.

"Really?"

"Yes. I'll bet he has a MahJong set- I'll teach you to play, if you'd like."

"Sure!" Lloyd cried, though it was pretty clear he didn't even know what the game was.

When they entered Wu's room, the duo was greeted by the strong scents of tea and old paper. Lloyd pretended to gag, then began rifling through the teacups and scrolls. Jinlong, however, opened his cabinets, pulling out an assortment of items, from books to unmarked boxes to an old picture of a little boy with a green streak through his hair.

"Aha," She cried, brandishing a large black box with golden lettering. "I _knew _he'd have one! Come along, let's go play."

As soon as she started with "MahJong has 144 pieces", she was fairly certain Lloyd tuned out. They didn't even finish a whole game before he got bored again, so Jin ended up just putting it back.

"Do you want to play hide-and-go-seek?" She asked after that.

"Only if I can hide first!" Lloyd cried, and then took off down the hall. Jinlong chuckled, closed her eyes, and counted to 10.

Lloyd's hiding spot was pretty predictable, but then again, Jin was a _master _of out-of-the-way places and immediately looked under Wu's bed(yes, he had a _real _bed, as did all of the ninja. Nya was jealous, but Jin didn't care). Sure enough, there he was.

"Aw. no fair," Lloyd protested, squirming out. "You cheated!"

"Wh-_how_? Lloyd, I was behind the corner the _entire time_!"

That, of course, just led to a petty and dead-end argument of 'yes you did's and 'no I didn't's. And, while these were fairly common out of Jinlong, even she drew the line somewhere, and five straight minutes was a tad much.

"Alright, alright, just calm down," She finally cut in. "We'll just play something else, alright?"

"Nuh-uh," Lloyd stuck his tongue out. "Not unless you admit that you cheated!"

Jinlong very nearly yelled, "_I did not cheat!_", but then decided that wouldn't go over so well. She _could _just say 'yes, I'm sorry I cheated', but that would be admitting defeat- to a little gremlin, no less! Not likely.

"Lloyd, please explain to me how I _possibly _could have cheated in any way."

Lloyd just stuck his tongue out again.

"Fine!" Jinlong yelled, her patience failing. "Go and be lonely, then!"

She turned and stomped off, glowering at the floor. It was the kid's loss- she could always just knit if she got bored.

oOo

30 minutes later, both Wu and Nya came hustling onto the ship.

"The ninja are in trouble!" The black-haired girl cried, quickly lifting the ship into the air and heading west.

Jin, still sour, made her way to the Bridge. "What happened?"

Nya's eyes flickered from the screen to her friend, then back. "They, uh, called me. Yeah."

Suspicious, but Jinlong had no room to talk, so she just nodded slowly.

They found the ninja in a foul swamp that Nya called the Toxic Bogs. Said ninja were groggy, but otherwise fine. Except for Kai, who was apparently still hallucinating from some Serpentine venom he'd received a few hours ago.

"Look at Wu's _beard_," The fire ninja whispered, quite loudly, at dinner, pointing to Sensei. "It's moving like _snakes_."

Jin cleared her throat to mask laughter. "That venom is some pretty powerful stuff."

Jay groaned. "You have _no _idea. I've been putting up with this for hours."

"Seriously, though, guys," Cole said. "We need to up our game. We can't allow the Serpentine to awaken the Great Devourer."

"What's the Great Devourer?" Every set of eyes, even Kai's delirious ones, turned to the dragon-girl. She blushed, "You never told me…"

"'What the Great Devourer?'" Jay mocked. "Only the mother of all snakes! If it gets released, it'll devour _everything_!"

"Aw, man," Lloyd's face was pink with shame. "This is all my fault. If I hadn't released those dumb snakes-"

Wu gently interrupted him, "You cannot change the past, my nephew, but you can always change the future."

"On a side note, what was with that samurai dude? Just who does he think he is, butting in on _our _job?" The blue ninja seethed. "Who does he think he is?"

Curious but afraid to ask, Jinlong settled for watching the ninja- minus Kai, who was rambling to his _very _unimpressed sister- rant about this mysterious samurai, apparently called Samurai X.

Of course, though, just as it always did, the alarm started screeching, and Lloyd jumped out of his seat and gave a little yelp of his own, to Jin's amusement.

The ninja raced off to the Bridge, leaving the non-ninja residents sitting around a half-empty table.

"Well, I guess we should start cleaning up," Nya sighed. Jinlong grumbled, but started picking up plates as Wu excused himself.

As the girls stood in the kitchen washing dishes, surprisingly, Lloyd came out, dressed in his pajamas, which were just Kai's old clothes.

Nya noticed him first. "Lloyd? Shouldn't you be in bed?"

"Yeah, but…" The gremlin looked at the ground and spoke fast. "SinceJinhelpedmeearlierIwantedtohelpherbacksoI'mgoingtodothedishesalright?"

Jin grinned, taking it as an apology for earlier. "Sure!"

And, even more surprisingly, Lloyd seemed to know what he was doing.

Once they were done, Nya went off to work on some unspecified thing, while Jinlong brought the little gremlin to his 'room', which was actually just a repurposed closet.

"You know, we're the Warriors Two," She said abruptly.

"What?"

"Because we're warriors," Jin explained, her cheeks heating up. "And there are two of us."

Lloyd stared at her for a moment, before breaking into a smile. "Yeah, I like that! The Warriors Two."

Jinlong grinned. Annoying he may be, that kid really was gold.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Lloyd goes missing! Is it a simple case of him getting lost, or is something more sinister afoot? Find out tomorrow on Way of the Dragon!**


	7. Sleeping Fist

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Lloyd gets kidnapped! What will the ninja do? And what is this 'sleeping fist' that Sensei Wu speaks of? Find out today!  
**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 7: Sleeping Fist**

* * *

"First, I'd thunderclap in his ears, then while he's stunned, I'd stomp on his tail and-"

"You're already hypnotized, or bitten."

"Or he's already put you into a squeeze."

"Or spit venom in your eyes," Kai shuddered. "Trust me, kid, not fun stuff."

"Aw, man," Lloyd whined, before turning to the head of the table. "Uncle, how do you defeat a snake?"

The blond boy just whined again as Wu went into yet another babble about the sacred flute, how the ninja shouldn't have lost it, yada yada yada. Typical elder stuff, in Jinlong's experience.

Jin, seated next to the gremlin, humored him and smiled. "Don't worry, I'll teach you Tiam Ikman. That can defeat any ol' snake, I promise."

A grin, somehow both wicked and adorably innocent, crept onto his face. "Any snake?"

"_Any _snake."

The alarm blared to life, sending the ninja, Wu, and Nya scrambling to the Bridge while Jinlong and Lloyd trailed after them, slower, more carefree.

"Serpentine have been spotted in Mega Monster Amusement Park," Nya told them, fingering her bracelet for some reason. "Hurry!"

"If we're fast, we might be able to beat the samurai there!" Jay cried, running off.

Lloyd's eyes lit up as the ninja raced off. "Amusement park? Can I go? Please, uncle? I'll be good, I promise!"

"No," Wu replied, watching the ninja leave. "It's far too dangerous, with Serpentine on the loose."

"I never get to do _anything _fun," Lloyd pouted. "No fair."

"You can play MahJong with me," Jin offered.

Lloyd groaned, dramatically plopping onto the ground. "Not _that_."

"You've played MahJong?"

Realizing her mistake, Jinlong turned to Wu, her face pinkening.

"Yes," She said tightly. "I used your set once. I'm very sorry."

An odd mix of curiosity and amusement shone in Wu's eyes. "It's quite alright, Jin."

"Hey," Lloyd piped up from his spot on the floor. "Where's Nya?"

Wu smiled knowingly, but said nothing, turning and walking out of the Bridge.

The rest of the day was uneventful, at least for Jin. The dragon-girl scrubbed the walls and windows, but apart from that, she just sat in her and Nya's room, knitting.

oOo

"Psst."

Jin groaned, rolling over.

"Hey, Jin."

She shoved her head under her pillow. _Too early_.

"_Jin_."

With an exasperated sigh, the golden-freckled dragon-girl tossed herself into a sitting position, her pillow going flying just in time for her to knock heads with a certain gremlin.

"Ow!" They both yelped, clutching their foreheads.

"Lloyd?" Jin hissed. "What are you doing here? It's the middle of the night!"

"Jin? Lloyd?" Came Nya's groggy voice. "W'as happenin'?"

There was a soft _click_, and the warm glow of Nya's homemade lamp illuminated the room.

Lloyd moved to bolt, but Jinlong grabbed his wrist, seeing for the first time that there were tears on his face.

"Lloyd? What's the matter?"

"Nothing!" He twisted in a vain attempt to free himself. "Leave me alone!"

"_You _woke _me_," Jin said.

"It's nothing," Lloyd hissed, finally wretching his hand free.

"So you just mosied on in here and woke both of us up for no reason?" Nya asked, clearly not buying into it.

"No, I- it's just stupid," Lloyd muttered. "I had a nightmare."

"Oh," Jin gave him a small smile. "That's not stupid at all. I have nightmares all the time."

"Me too," Nya added in. "I just had one last night, actually. You can ask Kai. I always wake him up when I have one."

"Really?"

The teen nodded, her disheveled black hair bobbing with her.

"Do you want to talk about your dream?" Jin asked. Lloyd rapidly shook his head before she was even finished speaking, and they all sat in silence for a while.

Finally, Nya spoke up. "If you don't want to sleep more, we should at least do something. Sitting here's pretty boring."

"I'm not tired," Lloyd insisted, despite the faint circles under his eyes. "Let's do something."

"Like what?"

A slightly wicked grin spread onto Nya's face. "We could raid the ninja's candy stash."

The gremlin's eyes lit up. "They have a candy stash?"

"Come on," Nya said, sliding out of her recently-acquired bed. Jin got out of her also-new sleeping bag, following Lloyd out of the room. The tro crept into the Bounty's kitchen, giggling mischievously to one another.

"Sensei doesn't like us eating candy," Nya whispered, pulling up a chair and standing on it, reaching into the top cupboard and pulling out a large jar. "But we do it anyway."

Seating herself in the chair, the girl popped the jar open and took out a chocolate, then offered the container to Jin and Lloyd. The gremlin pulled out a lollipop and a taffy, and Jin, who'd never seen that sort of candy, selected a package of N&N's.

"Ew," She made a face, chewing her candy. "What are these?"

"N&N's," Nya said. "They're made of chocolate. Jay really likes them."

"The N must stand for nasty," Jin muttered, setting the candy down.

Lloyd made the most offended squeak Jin had ever heard, his mouth wide open. "You don't like chocolate? What's _wrong _with you? You have no taste in candy."

"It's disgusting, what's wrong with _you_?"

"Hey, quiet down," Nya chided, although she was smiling. "Sensei's a light sleeper, and if he finds us we'll have to run suicides tomorrow?"

Lloyd grined, chewing his taffy- presumably grape, judging by the smell. "We should call ourselves something. We're all criminals now."

Nya snorted. "If you say so."

"The Candy Criminals," Jin said, smiling.

The red-eyed child shook his head. "Nah, too obvious. It needs to be like a code name, so no one will know what we do."

"The Crooked Criminals, then," The black-haired girl suggested.

"Hmmm...no," Lloyd said, before sitting up straight suddenly. "I got it! The Trio of Terror!"

"I like it," Jin giggled. "But you're the biggest terror out of us three."

"You totally are," Nya agreed, laughing a bit before turning to Jin. "So, what kind of candy _do _you like?"

"Dragon's Beard," She answered without missing a beat.

"W'as that?" Lloyd's voice was muffled by his lollipop.

"You're such a hippopotamus, Lloyd," Jinlong said, smiling at her smart-sounding vocabulary. "You say I have no taste in sweets, but you've not had Dragon's Beard candy?"

Nya burst out into semi-quiet laughter, snorting as she tried to contain it. "Did- did you just call him a hippopotamus?"

Her smile dulled. "Yes. That's someone who criticizes others for something they themselves do. Zane told me so."

"That's a _hypocrite_, Jin," Nya gasped out. "But I'll have to call Lloyd a hippo from now on!"

"What?" The gremlin looked, once more, very offended. "No!"

Nya laughed even more. "We're going to be _so _tired tomorrow."

oOo

Nya was, as usual, correct. When Wu woke everyone up at precisely 5:00 with his gong, a collective groan rose from the Trio of Terror.

Thankfully, it was Jin's day off and Kai's turn to watch Lloyd. After breakfast, when the ninja all set about their daily business, Jinlong decided to go out and buy herself some clothes.

The only issue being, of course, that she had no money. Maybe...maybe she could sell something?

_That's it, I'll sell my old qipao!_ It was musty from being in an old sack for so long, and slightly singed from the fire at the monastery, but it had to be worth _something_, right?

Or, actually, a fair amount according to the man at the clothes store.

"It's made of pure silk," He exclaimed, examining the fabric. "Very well made, too…"

Jinlong knew the look on his face and, not wanting to stick around for the inevitable '_where'd a little girl like you get this_', she took her money and made her leave, heading to the other clothes store she'd seen.

This time, the dragon-girl decided, she wanted something practical, but not ugly. Or 10x too big. And preferably gold-colored…

There were a lot of pretty dresses that caught her eyes, but they would be impossible to work in and were way out of her price range, anyway. Tank-tops looked really cool on her, or so she thought, but Jin worried she'd get cold too easily, and that they would be a bit too immodest. Hoodies felt nice, but would be hard to fight in.

Finally, after browsing the store for nearly an hour, Jin settled on a bright gold t-shirt and black trousers, both made out of the same breathable material as the ninja's gis. Just as she was checking out, though, something else caught her eye.

"How much is that?" She asked the cashier, pointing at a massive straw sunhat with a white ribbon tied around it.

"15 dollars."

"I'll take that, too, " Jin said. Since the hat wouldn't fit in the little plastic bag with the rest of her new clothes, she just put it on, counting her remaining money as she briskly trotted back to the Bounty.

Skipping onboard, she was struck by how quiet it was. Odd...the ninja weren't really the quiet type.

"Hello?" She called, wandering throughout the ship. "Is anyone home?"

"In the Bridge," Cole's voice called, and Jin hurried up the stairs to said place. She expected to be hit with a wave of laughter at her hat, but was greeted with eerie silence and somber stares instead.

"What...what happened?"

"The Serpentine have Lloyd," Kai spat with as much venom as the snakes it's directed at.

"I- what?"

Tears began to rise in Jinlong's eyes, only to be rapidly blinked away. Her mouth opened and closed, like a fish, as she searched for words. Finding none, Jin did one of the worst things someone in her position could: turn tail and run.

oOo

Over her quiet-ish sobbing, Jin vaguely heard the door of her and Nya's room slide open.

"Go _away_," She wetly demanded, even though she knew that wasn't really fair. It was probably Nya, and it was her room, too.

"Jin," Sighed a voice that was most certainly _not _a 14-year-old girl. "I know that you are upset by the loss of my nephew, but we must talk."

Spinning around, seated on her sleeping bag, Jin looked Sensei dead in the eye, still crying softly.

"About what?"

"You," Wu answered, sliding the door shut and sitting across from the weepy dragon-girl. "I know who you are."

"Do you?" She chuckled bitterly, though it was rude, wiping away her tears.

"More than you think," Wu said in a voice that made Jin want to believe him, and suddenly the old man in front of her looked rather draconic.

_One dragon knows another_.

"But I am not here to talk about that," He went on. "I am here to speak to you of your abilities, your potential. Your 'sleeping fist' if you will."

"'Sleeping fist'?"

"You may not have an elemental power, but do not downplay your abilities, Jin," He said. "You are capable of doing great things for this world and your own. But you must trust yourself, follow your head, and awaken your sleeping fist.

"Follow my head?" Jin repeated. "Do you mean heart?"

"No, I do not," Wu said, but offered nothing more.

oOo

Jinlong couldn't sleep that night. She laid awake, staring up at the ceiling in total darkness, aware that Nya, too, was awake.

They were both worried about Lloyd. Everyone was, especially Wu, but the girls had come to see him as a younger brother, the third member of the Trio of Terror.

"Jin," Came Nya's sleep-addled, half-conscious voice. "I'm Samurai X."

"I'm a dragon," Jin said, and they both drifted to sleep.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong strikes out on her own! Will she be able to save Lloyd, or will she only be putting herself in danger? Find out tomorrow on Way of the Dragon!**


	8. Exit the Dragon

**Announcer voice: Today, on a very short chapter of Way of the Dragon: A depressed Jinlong runs away in search of Lloyd! Will she succeed?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 8: Exit the Dragon**

* * *

The past two days had been awful, but at least knitting was helping. Chores sure didn't, and neither did talking, so Jin spent most of her time knitting.

"Hey," Nya's voice made the dragon-girl look up from a half-made washcloth. "You should say goodbye to Sensei. He's leaving on some journey."

"Mph," She grunted, going back to her project. The words barely even registered, her mind focusing solely on her knitting needles. She heard Nya sigh, then the door slide shut.

Whatever. It was better than trying to talk to anyone, or take her attention off knitting. Because, undoubtedly, as soon as she did, her mind would wander to...Lloyd.

_No_, she chasitized herself. _No, nope, back to knitting_.

Lazy as she was, keeping her hands busy had always been a good way to keep her distracted. So, she knitted.

oOo

Her fingers hurt.

Sighing, Jinlong set down her needles, flexing her hands, wincing at the ache in her joints and tendons. Maybe she would take a break or something…

_And do what?_

Frowning, Jinlong thought. There wasn't much to do without the ninja, and hadn't Nya said they'd gone off to put up flyers for something? The black-haired girl herself was nowhere to be seen, as was usual for her those days. So what _could _she do?

What could she do about anything, really? She hadn't been able to get herself back home, or even figure out how and why she was in Ninjago. She hadn't been able to protect Lloyd. _What could she do_?

Sensei had said that Jin could do much good for the world. Was that true? Probably. People his age were rarely wrong. So, maybe…

Knowing what she had to do, the dragon-girl changed into her new clothes, save for her sunhat. She tied her golden hair back into a bubble ponytail, then strided out of her and Nya's room.

As she walked onto the deck and looked over the railing, the perennial chill of what the ninja had called Jamanakai Village seeped into her. Good thing she hadn't gone with the tank-top.

"Jin?"

The dragon-girl turned around to Nya, who wore a weary expression.

"Yeah?"

"Where are you going? The ninja left the village a while ago, apparently, so you won't find them there."

"I…" Gathering her courage, Jin took a deep breath. "I'm going to look for Lloyd."

A stormy look grew on Nya's light-brown face. "First Sensei, and now you too? Look, Jin, I know you're worried, I am too, but you can't just abandon the rest of us."

"I have to," Her voice came out more pleading than she would've liked. "Sensei told me I need to awaken my 'sleeping fist', and I _know _he was talking about saving Lloyd!"

"You sound like my brother," Nya muttered, rolling her sea-green eyes. "The boys rely on each other as they try to find their true potential. You should, too. We're all family here."

"Then Lloyd is our little brother," Jinlong nearly shouted, though not angrily. "Nya, I _have _to help him!"

The taller girl sighed. "Fine. But before you go, at least let me give you a decent pair of boots. Those rubber ones won't hold up."

And that was how Jin ended up with Nya's spare combat boots, and a pair of her turquoise socks.

"They might be a little small, you have pretty big feet," The black-haired girl said. "But they should work just fine."

"Thank you very much," Jin said earnestly as she walked back onto the deck. "And I promise I'll be back, hopefully soon."

"You'd better," Nya grinned. "I like having another girl around here."

Smiling and waving, Jinlong made her way off the Bounty, the snow crunching under her new-ish boots.

She, surprisingly, didn't need directions to get down from the mountain village. There was a long, steep path down that she took, taking large, skipping steps to get down faster. And because it was pretty fun.

By the time she'd gotten down, the sun was beginning to drop below the horizon, so she decided to set up camp, which actually just meant finding a nice little alcove to sleep in.

"Don' worry, Lloyd," She mumbled as she slowly dropped off to sleep. "I'll find you…"

oOo

_Gentle, rocking waves and a petite hand running through her golden mane, petting her white scales. A voice, sweet like honey, dancing through her scenes._

"_Xiao yongzhe long," The heavenly voice sang. "Ni shi jin..."_

_Ni shi jin._

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong finds Lloyd, but he's being held captive by dangerous Serpentine! What will she do? Find out tomorrow!**


	9. Raging Dragon

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong finds Lloyd! But he is being held by snakes. What will Jinlong do?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 9: Raging Dragon**

* * *

The desert was really sort of terrible. It was like a beach, but stretching on endlessly, without any water, and with searing heat. So, really, its sandiness was all the desert had in common with a beach.

Trudging along, Jinlong's chicken-esque claws made strange prints in the sand as she dragged them along. She'd shifted into a dragon long ago to conserve water and cover more ground, but she no longer had the energy to fly.

"Help!" A sudden scream caught Jin's attention and kicked adrenaline into her system. "_Help us_!"

Leaping off the ground and commanding herself to stay airborne, the white-and-gold dragon shot through the air, the hot wind whipping through her mane, stinging her eyes.

She found the source of the screams quickly: two old women and three young girls, all carrying jugs, were surrounded by what appeared to be thieves.

Jinlong landed, curling her body around the circle of humans as much as she could(she was still quite small for a dragon), her jaws open so her gleaming fangs were visible.

All the humans froze, their eyes locked on the dragon. Jin hissed, an ancient and deadly sound, moving closer to one of the thieves.

He fled, sprinting in the other direction as fast as possible in the thick sand. After a moment and another hissing growl from Jinlong, the rest of the thieves followed.

Slowly, the Gold Dragon turned to the women and girls, who were shaking and terrified. Then, she shifted to a human, her golden hair and freckles glistening in the sun.

"Are you all alright?" She asked.

"You- you're a dragon," One of the girl's breathed. "And a girl."

Jin smiled broadly, revealing her fangs, but said nothing.

"Wow," The smallest of the girls, no older than 7, gasped. "I wish _my _teeth were like that. Then _no one _would try an' steal our water."

"Are you a demon?" One of the older ladies asked, her voice guarded.

"Of course not!" Jin stepped back, offended. "I am a dragon!"

"You look rather young for a dragon," Another old woman said. "How old are you? 100? 150?"

"No! I'm 14!"

The elders still looked skeptical, while the younger girls stared at Jinlong, giggling, grinning.

"Do you have a village?" Jin asked. "I've been walking for days and could really use some shade."

The women stiffened and the girls quieted. "Of course. Follow us."

The dragon winced. "You don't _have _to, I was just-"

"No, no, come along. Follow us."

oOo

After trudging behind the women and girls(who clearly still believed Jin to be a demon) for nearly an hour, they finally came upon a massive rock, almost mountainous, with tunnels and caves all through it, and a cluster of dug-outs and huts surrounding it.

"Welcome to the village of Gobi," One of the old women said. "We must bring our water to the storage rooms, but we will be back soon."

"Alright," Jin nodded absently, plopping herself down in the shade of a hut as the women and girls scurried off.

Looking around, she saw that everyone in Gobi was dressed like the ladies she'd met, even the men. They all wore loose, threadbare tunics and pants, colored in faded reds and oranges and browns. Their skin was darker than Jin's, and everyone's hair was black and cut short.

She sighed, leaning her head against the hut and closing her eyes. It was so hot...after a moment, the dragon-girl pulled out a water bottle from her sack and downed it, before someone's conversation caught her ears.

"Blasted snakes," A man was saying. "They're riling up the bandits and making them even more desperate."

"They're creepy, too," A much younger voice piped up. "And so tall."

_They must be talking about the Serpentine!_

Standing up, Jinlong walked over to the group of villagers.

"Excuse me," She said. "But could you tell me where these snakes were last seen?"

"Out by the Desert Temple," A man said. "East. But I don't recommend going- those snake folk are dangerous. I hear they've even got a little boy as a hostage."

"Thank you, sir!" Jin hastily bowed and scampered off, ignoring the man's cries. She shifted into a dragon, flying east as fast as she could.

_I'm coming, Lloyd. I'm coming!_

The hot desert air stung her eyes as she flew. Her adrenaline was ebbing, leaving weariness and heat exhaustion in its wake.

_No, come on, _she told herself. _Don't get all tired now!_

But her pep-talk was in vain and Jin soon found herself slowly drooping from the air, her claws dragging against the scalding sand.

_Up, pull up…_

The sun blazed down on her. It _never _got this hot on Huan.

She slowly sank into the sand, a memory flashing through her head.

"_Sanshe! I said I'm sorry!"_

"_Little pest," The sand-snake hissed, his sand-colored hair blowing over his livid face. "I should teach you a lesson!"_

_Shifting into a dragon, Sanshe tossed the young Jinlong onto the beach a few feet away, before rearing up and diving into the sand, disappearing from view._

_Spitting sand from her mouth, Jinlong felt something coil around her ankles, then yank her down into the warm, loose sand._

_She tried to scream, but sand just rushed into her open mouth. She thrashed, desperate, trying to claw her way back to the surface. Out of instinct, Jin shifted into a dragon, which finally pushed her head above the sand._

_Needless to say, Jinlong never messed with Sanshe again._

Opening her eyes, Jin saw that she'd stopped entirely and was laying in the sand. So much sand…

In the distance, wavering and fuzzy with the mirage from the heat, a bright, arctic-blue shape appeared, followed by a taller, purple one. The hot, convection-oven wind brought their filthy green scent and Jin gritted her fangs. _Serpentine_.

She heaved herself up, vision spinning, when she caught a much more pleasant, familiar scent. Mud and faint strawberries. Lloyd.

Jinlong heard their slithery voices, coupled with the blood pounding through her head. She was barely aware as she rushed into a gallop.

She heard the snakes shout, watched as they readied weapons, but all that Jinlong could focus on was the wide-eyed boy in a cage.

Something whizzed by her head and the dragon stumbled, but quickly regained her speed. Lloyd was so close… _so close_!

Just as she reached the snake carrying the obviously-terrified boy, Jin felt a fiery pain slice across her back just as she locked eyes with Lloyd.

"Jin?" He whispered, eyes wide in awe and terror.

As she shifted into a human, grimacing from the pain across her back, she heard Lloyd gasp and suddenly her vision exploded white, then the light seemed to rush away at an impossible speed, leaving only darkness.

oOo

_Fire blossomed in her chest, driving any air from her lungs._

"_Look," A voice said. "She's shifting again. Why?"_

"_I do not know," Said another voice that Jin instantly placed as Yaolong the Herb Dragon. "It could be her body trying to save itself. Or it could be the lack of oxygen causing hallucinations."_

_These dreams didn't make sense. Lack of oxygen? And what was her body trying to save itself from? Nothing made sense._

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: The ninja arrive! But will they be able to save their friends? Find out tomorrow!**


	10. Game with Death

**Announcer voice- Today on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong goes ballistic! Will her draconic instincts prove to be too destructive, or will Jin be able to conquer herself?**

**Jinlong voice- Episode 10: Game with Death**

* * *

Jinlong awoke in a small space, her knees brought up to her chest, her head resting on them. Everything hurt; it felt like she'd just fallen out of one of the particularly tall trees on Huan.

Quiet sobbing caught her attention, forced her head up and her eyes open.

"Lloyd?" She mumbled, trying to make her voice louder. "Are you alright?"

The dirty, far-too-skinny child in front of her snapped his head up, blond bangs falling in front of his eyes.

"J-Jin?" He gasped, wiping away his tears. "You're okay! I was worried…"

_Well, _okay _might be pushing it_. "Yes, I'm fine. But what about you? You're so skinny. Have they fed you at all?"

"Not really," Lloyd answered quietly. "Skales gave me an apple once, but that's it."

Anger bubbled up inside of her, but Jin pushed it down. She could- _would_\- get revenge later, but there were more pressing things to attend to.

Fishing through her sack, the dragon-girl was displeased to find that almost everything she'd packed was gone, including the food and water she had intended to give to Lloyd.

_Stupid snakes! _

"They took a buncha stuff from your bag," Lloyd muttered. "I tried to stop them, but…"

No explanation was needed. Jinlong forced a smile on her face, "It's alright. We'll be out of this cage soon enough, anyway."

One thing the Serpentine did leave- likely due to their lack of personal hygiene, Jin mused- was her poorly-knit bright blue washcloth. The corner of her mouth twitched up at the color. Jay was the only one who had yarn on the ship, because apparently he liked it, and he'd been nice enough to give some to Jin.

"Here," She said, handing it to the boy. "Clean yourself up."

"Thanks," Lloyd did as he was told, and the two sat in silence for a while. Jinlong stared out of the cage bars, watching the desert go by, slowly but steadily changing into forest.

"Hey, Jin?" The gremlin spoke up after a while.

"Yes?"

"Are you a dragon?"

At least 50 different thoughts raced through Jin's head, ranging from '_took you long enough to find out_' to '_where in Kigana did you get that idea_' to '_ohmygoshLloydpleasedon'ttelltheothers_'.

"Yes," She said. "I am."

"Wow," Lloyd whispered. "That's so cool."

Was it? She guessed so. Jinlong hadn't really ever stopped to think about her dragon-ness, it was simply a part of her, who she was. But maybe...maybe she _was _lucky. She had the power to transform into a mighty beast at will, terrorizing her enemies(sort of, maybe) and flying(all 3 feet off the ground). Being stuck in a human skin your whole life couldn't be pleasant.

She hummed. "Yes, I guess it is."

"Can you sing?" Lloyd asked, his cheeks going a bit pink. "My father used to tell me that dragons have the best voices."

Jin's own face went red. "Well- maybe. They taught us- the elder dragons did- back on my island."

"Can you sing me a song?"

Since she, and probably every other sentient creature in all the 16 realms, was weak against the gremlin's puppy dog eyes, she sighed in resignation.

"Alright. But don't laugh!"

"I won't. I promise." Yeah, well Jin knew that Lloyd tended to not make good on his promises. But for some reason, she knew he wouldn't laugh, even if her voice cracked or if she messed up(which was fairly likely).

Jinlong took and deep breath and closed her eyes, recalling the soft lavender song her mother used to sing,

"_Jin, ni jiushi jin_

_Wo zhidao_

_Ni zhen jin_

_Xiao yongzhe long_

_Ni shi jin_

_Jin…_"

"Jin," Lloyd repeated quietly. "That's your name."

"Yes," She nodded. "But in the ancient language of Kigana- that's my realm-, it means 'gold'."

A few moments of silence passed before the boy spoke up again, "My dad was right. Dragons do sing well."

"Thank you," She said. Then, softly, "_Wo de xiaolong_."

oOo

Volcanoes, Jin decided, were quite possibly the worst thing in all of Ninjago.

As the Serpentine marched right into one, Lloyd and Jinlong in tow, the dragon-girl was fairly certain that the snakes were going to throw them into the lava.

"Lloyd," She said, a sick feeling settling in her gut. "If-if you get the chance, run away. No matter what. Alright?"

Red eyes narrowed suspiciously. "What are you planning?"

"Nothing," Jin answered flatly. _And that's what scares me_.

When they entered the apparently-active volcano, Jinlong thought she'd roast to death before she got anywhere near the lava. It was _hot_. The desert felt like an arctic compared to the sweltering, dizzying heat.

A small gasp caught her attention.

"Look!" Lloyd whispered, eyes wide and hopeful. "It's my dad!"

Following the boy's gaze, Jinlong was startled to see a tall, four-armed man with skin like a shadow creeping along a ledge high above them.

"_That's_ your father?" Jin blurted out, instantly regretting it. However, Lloyd seemed unfazed.

"Yep," He said. "I knew he'd come!"

"And over there are the ninja and Sensei Wu," Jin muttered, a grin growing on her gold-freckled face.

"ATTACK!" She heard a very Kai-ish voice shout, before everything went south.

In the next 5 seconds, the chain of events that occurred happened too fast for Jin to think. The four-armed man- Lord Garmadon- appeared seemingly out of nowhere, bashing snakes with a brutal strength. One of the Serpentine, likely Skales, shouted something about dropping the cage. Then, they were falling.

Jin didn't register what was happening. Instinct took over and she was shifting into a dragon, her growing body sundering the cage to pieces, leaving Lloyd clinging to her mane and Jinlong clinging to the rock wall.

She heard shouts of surprise and recognized that they were familiar, but her draconic instincts prevented her from making out the actual words. That only happened when she was in mortal danger- which, Jinlong supposed, being 50 feet from falling into blistering-hot lava qualified as.

With a growl, she heaved herself back onto the path, hissing and baring her fangs at the Serpentine. Her tail swished back and forth threateningly. A wild, feral feeling was rising in her chest, blotting out reason- which was arguable if Jin had any in the first place.

An orange and black Serpentine wielding a jagged sword charged at her, shouting a battle cry. Blood-red rage swelled within Jinlong and before her fury-addled brain could even think, she was snapping, tearing, and sending snakes flying.

Lord Garmadon was next to her, reaching above her. _Was he trying to attack her_?!

Jinlong tossed her head back, roaring, twisting her long body and snapping at the four-armed man. But he wasn't paying attention or even looking at her. He was screaming. Why was he looking over the ledge-

_Oh no_.

In a horrible, awful tidal wave of reality, Jin realized she'd thrown Lloyd over the edge. Garmadon hadn't been attacking her, he'd been trying to get his son.

If she knew how, Jinlong would've swore.

Shifting into a human and leaping off the path in a fluid motion of desperation, the dragon-girl felt herself free-fall for less than a second before a hand grabbed the back of her shirt and hauled her back onto the ledge.

"Let go of me," She screamed, thrashing in the person's grip. "Let go!"

"Jin," Came Cole's voice, angrier than usual. "Stop it!"

"But- but _Lloyd_-"

"I know."

"And _I'm _the one-"

"I know."

Hot tears stung Jinlong's eyes, spilling over and running down her flushed cheeks. _What have I done?_

"Help!" A weak voice cried from below, and even though Cole still held her, Jin plowed to the edge of the path.

"Lloyd!" She cried, relief flooding through her. The boy wasn't dead- not yet, anyway. He was crumpled on a chunk of rock floating in the lava, which would surely melt soon. "Hold- hold on, Lloyd, I'm coming!"

A sudden rumbling in the ground pitched the dragon-girl forward, and she was beyond grateful that Cole was still holding onto her shirt, or else she'd have been fried and no one would've saved Lloyd.

"We must leave now or else none of us will make it out!" Said a voice that sounded suspiciously like Wu's.

Spinning around, Jinlong saw that it was indeed Wu, with Zane and Jay next to him.

"But Lloyd!" She yelled, desperation and anger flowing through her. "Lloyd, he- _I_-"

The ground shook again, and Wu's face hardened. "Now!"

Cole picked up Jin- who was screaming and twisting wildly- and threw her to Jay, who caught her and tossed her over his shoulder.

"Put me _down_!" She screeched, hitting Jay's back as hard as she could. "Let me _go_, Lloyd's going to _die_!"

She watched as Cole and Zane restrained Garmadon- who was reacting much like herself- and pulled him along. Then they were all running towards the exit. _Away from Lloyd_.

"Let me GO!" Jinlong screamed, kicking, clawing, crying. "What's _wrong _with you?! Don't you care about him?!"

It was useless. He wouldn't listen; none of them would. They didn't care about Lloyd.

Sobbing, Jin let herself go limp. Lloyd was dead by now, anyway. She could only hope- _pray_\- that it hadn't been painful.

The next thing she knew, Jinlong was sitting on the wooden deck of the Bounty, crying hysterically.

"How- how _could you_?!" She screamed, her throat raw and scratchy. "You left him! He's _dead _because- because…"

_Because of me. I'm the one who knocked him off the ledge. This is my fault, and no one else's_.

Sniffling, she looked up at the ninja and saw for the first time that there were tears on their soot-streaked faces, too.

"Where- where's Kai?" She croaked. The Fire Ninja was nowhere to be seen, but it appeared that his teammates already knew that.

"Where is he?" She demanded, shakily standing up.

_No, no, no_…

A strange feeling grew in the pit of her belly, a roaring feeling, like a piece of her soul had been ripped away.

What was she going to do? Lloyd was like the sun- there could not be a day without. And if Kai was gone too…

"Look!" Someone cried. "It's- I think it's Kai!"

Through her blurring vision, Jinlong could make out a glowing red sphere, flying from the volcano and landing on the deck.

The fiery orb disappeared, leaving behind a glowing Kai and a slightly-singed-but-very-much-alive Lloyd.

At the exact same moment, Kai and Jinlong both hit the deck, out cold.

* * *

**Announcer voice- How did Kai and Lloyd survive? What will it mean for the team? And for Jinlong? Find out next time on Way of the Dragon!**


	11. A Force of Two

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong is an idiot! Will her lack of foresight get everyone killed, or will she be able to save them? Find out today!**

**Vaguely offended Jinlong voice: Chapter 11: A Force of Two**

* * *

Jinlong stared out of the window, watching clouds float through the predawn sky. Try as she might, the dragon-girl hadn't been able to sleep all night. Not that it was really bizarre, considering the previous day's events.

When she'd come to, only a few moments after fainting, she'd been bombarded with the news that Kai had unlocked his 'full potential' and Lloyd was the 'Green Ninja', destined to defeat the Dark Lord. Who, coincidently, was his father. Predictably, neither father nor son took the news very well.

There had also been the matter of explaining why she could turn into a dragon. Jin had been wondering how long she'd been able to keep that a secret; it, admittedly, had been a sort of game to her, but she had to come clean after her stunt at the Fire Temple.

It...it was a lot to process. But it wasn't really _bad_. Sure, Lloyd had to fight his father, but now she had a good excuse to train him. Her secret was out, but it had never really been a _secret_.

"What are you doing awake?"

The gravelly voice shattered Jinlong from her thoughts. She spun around, her sensitive draconic eyes easily spotting Lord Garmadon, even in the near-lightless kitchen.

"I could ask you the same question," She shot back, pivoting to face the window again.

Although she'd never admit it, Jinlong was deeply disturbed by the 4-armed man. All her life, she'd been taught that elders were wise, to be trusted and respected. But Garmadon was wicked and cruel. How could she respect someone like that?

"Evil never sleeps," The man answered, sending shivers down the dragon-girl's spine.

"Then I guess good can't, either."

Garmadon snorted. "You sound like my brother."

"And you sound like a deranged lunatic, but you don't hear me pointing that out."

He made a sound that could have, maybe, been interpreted as a laugh. "You know, girl, you're very impudent for a dragon. They're supposed to be disciplined as hatchlings."

"How would you know?" Jinlong challenged. "You're no dragon."

"Really?" Garmadon's voice turned dark. "Is that so?"

"Of course! Dragons are brave and honorable, which you are not!"

He snorted again. "Good to be told my heritage by a little girl."

She was silent for a moment before asking, timidly, "_Are_ you a dragon?"

"Half," He replied curtly. "And half Oni."

"Then that means-"

"Yes," Garmadon cut her off. "My father was the First Spinjitzu Master, Wu is part Oni, Lloyd is only half human- whatever you were going to say, the answer is yes."

"So you're half dragon, but evil?"

"Yes."

"But dragons are good!"

Looking down at her with condescending red eyes, the 4-armed man growled, "You are young and naive. You know nothing of the world."

"Well I know that much! The elders wouldn't lie, so you must be lying. You're no dr-"

"Silence!" Garmadon roared, shutting the dragon-girl up instantly. He took a few deep breaths before barking, "Get out of my sight, girl, before I do something I'll regret."

She didn't need to be told twice. Slinking back to her and Nya's room, Jin could only wonder how such an evil man could be the father of her best friend.

oOo

"They sure do leave us alone a lot," Lloyd complained, laying on the floor of the girls' room.

"Yep," Jin said dryly, knitting.

"I don't know why," He continued. "You kick butt, and I'm the Green Ninja!"

"Technically I'm supposed to be mopping the floor right now," Jin admitted. "And you haven't had any training yet."

"Well, yeah, but still."

Jin's ears suddenly perked up. "Do you hear that?"

Lloyd was silent for a few seconds. "Yeah, it sounds like someone's using the main computer."

Getting to their feet, the Warriors Two hurried to the Bridge, where an unpleasant but not wholly unexpected sight greeted them.

"Dad," Lloyd gasped. "Are you..._stealing_?"

The 4-armed man turned away from the large computer to face them. There was a strange expression on his face, almost like guilt, only that couldn't be right because he was evil and couldn't feel remorse.

"Lloyd, I-"

The blond boy interrupted his father, eyes burning. "No, I don't wanna hear it! My friends are risking their lives for Ninjago, and you go behind their backs to steal secrets? Just- go! Go back to whatever evil place you came from!"

Garmadon stepped back, wincing. The hurt on his face looked real- real enough to fool Jin, if she hadn't known he was evil.

"Well- if that's how you feel," He muttered, walking towards the door. Jinlong and Lloyd hurried inside the Bridge as he left.

"I can't help it, you know," He called from the doorway. "The evil that runs through me- it makes me do these things. I can't control it."

The Warriors Two didn't turn to face him. Garmadon sighed, and they heard his footsteps fade away.

No sooner than he'd left, static burst through the speaker connecting them to Nya's samurai suit.

"Hello? Is anyone there?" Her teal voice came through.

"Yeah- Jin and me," Lloyd replied through the mic. "Are you okay?"

"Mostly," Nya said. "But we're, uh, a little _tied up _at the moment."

Uh-oh. When Nya made puns, that usually meant things weren't looking too good.

"How so?" Jin asked.

"Well, we're stuck in a cage that's slowly being lowered into acid."

"That's...not good."

"You don't say?"

"Don't worry!" Lloyd piped up. "We'll come and save you!"

"Er- where's your father?" Nya asked, her skepticism audible even through the static.

"Gone," Jin answered a little more bitterly than she'd intended. "He was stealing secrets."

"Ah, figures," Came Kai's voice. "Jin, you'd better hurry. Lloyd, you stay there. You're too important to risk losing."

_Ouch, and I'm not? _Granted, Jin would prefer it if the gremlin stayed behind, but that had nothing to do with his newfound status as the 'Green Ninja' and everything to do with his lack of training.

"Yeah," Nya said. "Yeah, just- hurry!"

The connection was cut, leaving the two blonde dragon-children standing there.

"You'll let me come, right?" Was the first thing out of Lloyd's mouth.

"No, sorry," Jin told him, hurrying out of the Bridge. Lloyd followed.

"Please? I promise I'll be super careful and do what you tell me to!"

"No, Lloyd," The dragon-girl was more forceful that time. "You're not trained yet."

"How am I ever gonna _get _trained if you won't let me come with you?!" Just a few weeks ago, that logic would've worked on Jinlong, because just a few weeks ago, that _was _her logic.

"By patiently waiting for the ninja to train you."

Lloyd pouted and crossed his arms. "You're no fun! We're supposed to do things together!"

If she were a little older, a little more experienced, she would've said something like 'battle isn't fun'. But she was young and naive, just as Garmadon had said, so she did not.

"Pleeease?" Lloyd begged, pulling out his puppy eyes. Jin sighed.

"Fine. Go put on your gi."

oOo

In hindsight, that was a really bad idea.

Sure, she'd known Lloyd was untrained and uncoordinated. And yes, she'd known that he was, like, 10, and had some serious trust issues that he attempted to cover up with extreme over-confidence. Still, Jin really didn't think their rescue mission would go as badly as it did.

"Why would you do that?!" Kai yelled at her, livid, from across the large cage that held them all. Jin was actually rather glad they were all chained to the bars, because if not, the Fire Ninja probably would've killed her.

"I said I'm sorry!"

"I don't care if you're sorry!" The ninja's face was turning the same shade as his gi. "We _specifically _told you to leave Lloyd behind! Now he's going to die, and all of Ninjago along with him!"

"At least we're not being lowered into acid!"

"It doesn't _matter_! They'll just eat us or something, we're still just as dead!"

Lloyd whimpered. Jinlong shut her eyes against the tears and ignored the pounding in her ears.

"Can't you just turn into a dragon?" Jay offered.

"Only if I want to break my leg," She hissed. The cuff around her wrist- needlessly vengestone- would hold her front leg at an unnatural angle if she tried to shift, and would most likely snap her limb.

"You got us into this mess," Kai barked. "You have to get us out."

Vaguely, she wondered why the others weren't stepping in, telling Kai to lay off, or any of the other things they did when Kai went off yelling at someone. Then she got it: they agreed with him.

_This is my fault_.

There was no one else to blame this time. This time, the fault was all her own and no one else's.

The dragon-girl sighed. She was going to _have _to shift if she wanted to get her friends out of this…

"SKALES!" A thundering voice roared from below.

_Oh no, not _him…

"RELEASE MY SON!" Garmadon boomed, so loud that Jinlong winced.

Surprisingly, the cage _did _ start moving downwards. Unsurprisingly, there was still a massive pool of acid underneath it.

"A lotta good that did," Cole muttered, but the cage jerked to a halt, still several feet above the glowing green substance.

Lord Garmadon appeared to be the reason, along with a swarm of... _skeletons_. Moving, talking, skeletons.

"What even _is _reality anymore?" Jin groaned as the cuff popped off her wrist, along with everyone else's.

"Come on," Nya called, ushering everyone outside the now-open door, calling her suit to her.

"We must retrieve the Fangblades while the Serpentine are distracted," Zane said, and the 3 other ninja followed him into the mass of snakes and skeletons. The 'Fangblades', Jin had been told, were needed to summon the Great Devourer. The ninja needed them so the Serpentine couldn't do that, or something.

"Hop on," Nya commanded as her samurai suit arrived. Wu helped his nephew up to sit next to him, while Jin clung onto the opposite side.

"Don't worry about us," One of the skeletons called. "We'll keep on fightin' the good fight!"

So, incredibly, unpredictably, they made their escape- with the Fangbaldes, as Jay triumphantly pointed out once they reached the Bounty.

But they almost hadn't. Jin couldn't have done anything about that- it was one dragon-girl against at least a thousand snakes. But she _had _endangered Lloyd's life. That was careless, immature, stupid- and it had been so, achingly, _Jin _to do it.

_This cannot go on anymore,_ she told herself. _You have got to grow up, Jinlong. You have to take care of Lloyd._

Taking a deep breath, Jin made an oath to herself, silently. From that moment onwards, she vowed, she would be mature.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Will Jinlong be able to keep her vow, even when faced with death? Find out tomorrow on Way of the Dragon!**


	12. The Awaken Punch

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: The ninja race to destroy the Fangbaldes, but an enemy has boarded their ship! Will they succeed?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 12: The Awaken Punch**

* * *

"No, you're off-balance. Firmly plant your feet, knees shoulder-width apart- like that, yes."

Teaching was harder than Jinlong had imagined. She had to hand it to her own teachers; they were 10x more patient than she was, and she had complained 10x more than Lloyd.

Not to say that the gremlin didn't complain, of course.

"This is _boring_," He groaned. "When can I learn to fight?"

"Once you've mastered your stances," Jin replied. "Which, actually, should be rather soon. You're a fast learner."

"Not in my experience," An accented voice spoke as a tall, long-necked purple Serpentine materialized behind Lloyd, a clawed hand grabbing onto his hood.

"Pythor," The boy growled, although it also could've passed as a squeak.

"After all," The snake continued. "He was betrayed by every tribe before he learned we couldn't be trusted."

"What do you want?" Jin challenged, her voice little and breaking.

"Nothing you have," He answered. "Just stand down and I won't hurt the boy."

_I was afraid he'd say that_.

"_You _stand down," She ordered, trying to sound brave. "Or I'll alert the ninja of your presence."

"You could do that," A disturbing grin slid over Pythor's face. "But I would be forced to harm your little friend here."

"That-that's not fair!" She cried. Pythor chuckled.

"Life's not fair, girl."

Jin sighed and hung her head. She'd vowed to be mature and look after Lloyd, but in a situation like this...what _would _be the responsible thing to do?

"I surrender," She mumbled. "Now put Lloyd down."

He smirked. "Now, there's a good girl."

Less than 2 minutes later, the Warriors Two found themselves tied back-to-back against a punching bag, Lloyd's sleeves used as ropes, duct tape over their mouths.

Thankfully, Pythor was an idiot and didn't count for the fact that Jinlong was a dragon. So, with just a quick shift and back, the duo was free, the punching bag torn down, and the tape ripped from their mouths.

"Pythor's on board!" Lloyd yelled into the intercom, before Jin drug him out of the room and up the stairs.

"Hold him off while I get my suit," Nya hastily instructed as the blond children ran above deck.

"Where're the ninja?" Lloyd barely had time to ask before Pyhtor caught sight of them, wielding all 4 Fangblades in their holder.

With a short battle cry, Jinlong charged, ducking just as the snake punched. She tried to counter-attack, but Pythor easily dodged all of them- and moved right into the path of a flying kick from Lloyd.

"You insolent little brats!" The Serpentine cried. "Do you _really _think you can beat me?"

"They were never supposed to," Came Nya's voice as her Samurai X suit landed on the deck.

"The ninja!" Lloyd gasped, pointing at the side of the Bounty, but all Jin saw was the bottom of Kai's tabi boots.

_Wait_…

Running over, the dragon-girl's fears were proven correct. The ninja had all formed a human chain, with Wu at the bottom.

"Hey-Jin," Kai's voice was strained. "Gimmie a hand here, wouldja?"

"Yeah," She nodded, gathering her thoughts, taking a deep breath.

The elders in Kigana used to say that a dragon would only be able to fly freely when they were ready, and that they would know, without a doubt, when that was.

They also called her impulsive.

She leapt off the ship, shouting in either joy or fear, before shifting into a dragon. For a split second, she floated there, but as soon as she tried to move, it was like someone cut a puppet's strings, and she was falling.

_No! Swim- that's what the elders said. Swim through the air!_

Concentrating as much as possible while falling to a fiery demise, Jinlong tried to envision her body propelling itself upwards, twisting through the air.

When she cracked her eyes open, she was flying.

But then Sensei was falling and she acted quicker than she ever had in her life, zipping up and catching him on her back. A second later, Nya appeared in her mech, grabbing the rest of the ninja.

"Did you see me?" Lloyd demanded from the ship. "I hit him!"

"Pythor got away," Kai noted bitterly.

"And he has the Fangblades!" Nya cried, dropping the ninja onto the Bounty. Jin landed next to them.

Almost before she could process what was happening, Wu was thanking her, Lloyd was talking a million miles an hour, and the Bounty was speeding off.

She shifted into a human, and suddenly the ninja, Nya, and Wu were jumping off the ship, their respective vehicles either flashing into existence or picking them up mid-air.

"Meet us at Ouroborus!" Cole yelled. Jin blinked.

"Lloyd, do you know how to pilot the Bounty?"

"No. Why? You do, right?"

"I do now," The dragon-girl declared, rushing into the Bridge and grabbing the steering wheel. She heaved it in the direction the ninja had gone, hitting a button labeled "forward" in Jay's sloppy handwriting.

And, surprisingly, it worked. The ship zoomed forward, and there were no problems.

"Hey, Lloyd," Jinlong called, grinning. "I got-"

She stopped short, staring out the front windshield. "What. In all of Kigana…?!"

Far off in the distance, but still very, very visible, rearing above the horizon, was a massive serpent.

* * *

**Announcer voice: The Great Devourer has been awoken! Will the ninja be able to stop it? Can Jinlong put her draconic nature to use? Find out tomorrow on Way of the Dragon!**


	13. Dragon in the Snake's Shadow

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: The Devourer has been released, and Sensei Wu has fallen! Without their beloved master, how can the ninja prevail? Find out today!**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 13: Dragon in the Snake's Shadow**

* * *

"What. In all of Kigana…?!"

A few emotions flashed through Jinlong. _Horror _might've been too weak a word, along with _absolute terror_.

_This_, she thought mutedly, _This __is what the ninja were trying to stop._

_This is the Great Devourer_.

The Bounty was speeding right towards it, and it took all of the dragon-girl's willpower not to veer off course.

_The ninja are counting on you! Don't be a coward!_

"Lloyd!" She shrieked, and she heard as the boy came running into the Bridge, only to stop short when he caught sight of the monstrous snake.

"That's it, isn't it?" He asked, voice trembling. "The Great Devourer."

"Yeah," Jin croaked.

They were close- almost directly over Ouroborus. Jin anchored the ship in the air, then ran out on the deck to look for the ninja.

She saw them, all gathered in the arena where the Great Devourer was rising- _still rising, how big _was _that thing_\- from the ground. Wu and Pythor were a little ways away, much closer to the monster snake. It looked like Wu was holding Pythor in place. But why wasn't he running? Then, the Devourer reared back, its eyes on them.

"RUN, SENSEI!" Someone screamed.

The Devourer dove forward, easily swallowing both man and Serpentine.

It shocked Jin out of her stupor, and she screamed at the ninja, "GET ON!"

With lightning speed, they followed her command, though their eyes were blurry with tears. Nya rushed into the Bridge, and the Bounty roared to life, shooting like a bullet into the desert.

"Uh, Nya," Jay called. "It's following us!"

"We're going as fast as we can!" The black-haired girl near-screamed. "If we can make it to Scatter Canyons, we might be able to lose it!"

"We'll never make it!" Kai yelled. "We're not going fast enough!"

"Then we must lose weight," Zane instructed. "Throw everything unnecessary overboard!"

The ninja+ co., save for Nya, rushed to fulfill the order. Games, books, extra clothes- everything was thrown off. Even, Jin realized with a pang, Sensei's tea set.

"It's getting bigger," Cole said, horrified. Something seemed to click in his brain, and he called, "Don't throw anything else! The more it eats, the bigger it gets!"

A split second later, Nya yelled, "We made it to Scatter Canyons!"

She- very impressively, in Jin's mind- weaved the Bounty through the towering rock faces, slowly but surely putting distance between the ship and the snake.

"Alright," Jay cheered. "Go Nya!"

But at that exact moment, the Devourer erupted from the sand in front of them, and a moment of terrified screams filled the air, before the snake brought its tail down on the Bounty, crushing it into the ground.

Jinlong pulled Lloyd into her arms and leapt off the ship just before it hit the sand. The force of the impact threw the duo even further, sprawling them out on the sand, dazed.

"Get up," Someone said, hauling the two to their feet and dragging them along.

"Nya," The dragon-girl sputtered upon seeing her savior.

The ninja were there, too, all fleeing towards a small cave. A loud _snap-crunch _sounded, and Jin saw from the corner of her eye that it was the Bounty, broken in the Devourer's jaws.

"Our home," Lloyd whimpered.

Just before they reached the cave, Jinlong stopped short.

"Come on," Nya called, frustration and grief evident in her voice.

"No," Jin said. "I have- I have to go."

"Don't be a coward," Her friend snarled, a few tears falling from her eyes.

"I'll be back. I promise," Jin called, running off and shifting into a dragon.

_I promise_.

oOo

To say that Jinlong knew what she was doing would be a lie. It had been a feeling- just a feeling, but so _strong_\- that had told her to run off to the ocean by Ninjago City. There she sat, as the sun rose, wondering if it had been a mistake, when a gorgeous silhouette appeared over the horizon. A dragon.

The eastern wind brought no distinct scent, but rather 4 familiar ones all blended together. Burnt orange, sharp blue, soft brown, and pale turquoise.

"The dragons," Jin whispered, back in her human form. "But where…?"

When the beast landed, she saw. They had merged, the way powerful dragons sometimes did, to become an Ultra Dragon, the 4-headed drakes of legend.

"You all have grown up," Jinlong exclaimed, embracing them. "I'm so proud…"

"_We must hurry_," They said in a voice that mixed all of the original dragons'. "_The ninja are in need_."

"Then let's go, Flwirosh," The dragon-girl said, climbing onto their back. She sniffed the air, searching for the acrid scent of the Devourer.

"That way," She directed. "To the city!"

In a storm of wind and wings, they were airbourne, rocketing over the city. The pungent, sickly green odor of the Great Devourer laid over the entire city, blocking out all other scents.

"_There_," Flwirosh said. "_The snake of all snakes_."

They were right. And in the Devourer's mouth, suspended by a pole, were Nya and Lloyd.

"_Get them when we fly by_," The Ultra Dragon instructed, and a split second later, they were diving towards the beast.

As they sped by, Jinlong snagged Lloyd by his gi's hood, and Nya- in her samurai suit- grabbed onto the 4-headed dragon.

They quickly landed, setting Nya on the ground, and Jin put Lloyd down.

"Jin? Is that _our _dragon?"

"Toldja!" The dragon-girl grinned, before the Ultra Dragon flew once more, passing over the Devourer and raking it with their claws.

"Haha, yeah!" She heard the ninja cheer. The looks of joy on their faces quickly melted into fear, and suddenly Jin and Flwirosh were plummeting from the sky.

"_My wing_!" The Ultra Dragon roared, twisting, accidentally sending Jinlong flying from their back.

She let out a short scream, before hitting the ground hard and rolling a few feet.

"They're hit!" Cole cried, and the earth-trembling sound of the Ultra Dragon hitting the ground was heard.

Jinlong struggled to her feet, clutching her right wrist. She hurried over to the rest of the ninja, who were gathered around Flwirosh.

"Are they hurt?" She demanded.

Zane nodded. "It appears that their wing is fractured."

Jinlong gritted her teeth, both in pain and sympathy.

"Lord Garmadon," Jay hissed, and Jin spun around to see none other than the 4-armed man himself.

"Give me the Golden Weapons," He demanded, but his voice was less menacing than usual. "Only I can wield all 4 and defeat the Great Devourer."

"No way," Jin snapped. "We could never trust you."

"I dunno," Jay sighed. "What other choice do we have?"

"None, " Garmadon snarled. Kai sighed, then held out his sword.

"Fine," He groaned. "The Devourer has a weak spot on its forehead."

The other ninja handed over their weapons, and a wicked grin grew on Garmadon's face.

"Uh, we _are _going to be needing those back," Cole told him.

"I'll do my part," The 4-armed man said. "You'll just need to keep that wretched snake in one place."

oOo

Flwirosh really was admirable. Jin's wrist- which Zane had proclaimed sprained but not broken- was killing her, while the Ultra Dragon, with a broken wing, still managed to pull forth the willpower to fly.

Good thing for Zane and Jay, because if not, they would've fallen to their deaths.

"It worked!" Kai proclaimed, punching the air.

The Great Devourer was biting its own tail, wrapped around an entire city block.

_Orouborus_, flashed through Jin's mind. _The snake eating itself._

And far above it was Garmadon, a shining weapon in each of his hands.

"Vengeance," He yelled. "Will be _mine_!"

He leapt from the skyscraper, plummeting at a remarkable speed towards the snake's head.

A shockwave and a loud _boom_, and the Devourer was reduced to a tidal wave of stinking green goo.

A collective, tentative cheer slowly rose from the city, as the Ultra Dragon landed.

"Well done, my students," Said a voice behind them. 6 heads turned with whiplash-inducing speed.

"Sensei," Zane identified, his voice uncharacteristically thick with emotion.

"Uncle!" Lloyd cried, leaping off Flwirosh and running to embrace the old man. The rest of the team, plus Nya and Jin, followed close behind.

"We lost the Golden Weapons," Jay told him, but Wu just smiled.

"The weapon does not make the warrior. Do not despair," He said. "Because of you all, Ninjago is saved. Because of you, there will be a tomorrow."

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Lloyd is threatened once again, and Jinlong is the only one who can help him! Will she succeed? Find out tomorrow on Way of the Dragon!**


	14. Magnificent Bodyguards

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong is left to defend Lloyd, but with her wrist still injured, will she be able to?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 14: Magnificent Bodyguards**

* * *

Finding a place to live, in theory, should've been very easy for 4 near-celebrity status teenagers and their accomplices, especially after playing a pivotal role in saving the capital city and probably the world from a massive, multiple-ton snake a few days beforehand. But, just like anything in the ninja's lives, it really wasn't that simple.

"Ain't got enough room for me'self in this stinking city," Grumbled yet another landlord upon being asked. "And it ain't likely to be any room anytime soon, so scram!"

Jay let out a world-weary sigh, which may or may not have been overdramatic, depending on who you asked. Jin didn't think it was, at this point.

"Isn't there _anywhere_ open in the _whole city_?" He groaned as the ninja and co. walked along the sidewalk.

"You know, Lloyd whines less than you, and he's, like, 8," Kai muttered, shooting his brother-in-arms a half-hearted glare.

"I'm _10_," The gremlin corrected him, but no one paid attention. The sun beat down overhead, seeming to drain away any enthusiasm or liveliness. Nya had told them that she, in some way or another, knew a real estate agent and was expecting a call from her, but it had yet to come in.

"I'm hungry," Lloyd said after a few moments, and while Jinlong loved him like a brother, she had to disagree with Kai. _No one _complained more than Lloyd, and likely, no one ever would.

"We'll get lunch in a few hours," Cole promised.

"My feet hurt."

"Why don't you walk on your hands, then?"

The blond boy pouted, probably about to complain again, but at that moment, Nya's(well, technically it was the whole team's) flip phone rang. She whipped it out and in an instant was deep in conversation with someone.

"Great! We'll be there in 30 minutes," Nya said cheerfully before hanging up.

"Well? Did you find a place?" Jay asked.

"Maybe," The girl answered. "But it's across town and we have to be there in half an hour, so we'd better pick up the pace."

oOo

"Here we have an affordable and cozy home," The real estate agent, whose name Jinlong hadn't even caught, went on, her shrill voice giving the dragon-girl a headache. "Who needs space when everything is in arm's reach?"

A disapproving sound came from the ninja, but Jin actually quite liked the small, but dingy, apartment. It might be a little cramped if they were all there together, all the time, but in such a massive city, Jinlong found it hard to imagine that you, physically, _could _stay home all day with so much to see and do.

"Remember," Wu said. "All we need is a space to train Lloyd."

"And this is the only apartment we can afford," Zane added.

Kai walked around a little. "I dunno, Sensei, this place is pretty small. Do you think we even _could _train Lloyd here? I mean, there isn't even lighting."

"Well, if you're interested, I do have another place," The real estate lady said, leading them up the stairs of the apartment complex to the top floor.

"This," She announced as the doors opened on their own accord. "Is the Hero's Suite."

A collective 'whoa' rose from the ninja+ co., even Jin and Wu. The apartment was massive, glittering, with pristine white floors and an entire wall that was a window overlooking the city.

"And that's not all," The shrill-voiced woman went on, hitting a small button on the wall. Immediately, terrifyingly(to Jin), one of the side walls lowered itself, revealing a full set of training equipment.

"We'll take it!" She heard Cole enthusiastically cry.

"Hey, wait a second," She yelped, spinning around to face the ninja. "Can we even afford the rent?"

Actually, she didn't care if they could or not, mostly the dragon-girl didn't want to get stuck having to clean such a massive space.

"We'll just get day jobs, don't worry," Kai waved her off absent-mindedly.

Jinlong sighed.

oOo

As it turned out, "we" did not include a certain gold-freckled Changing Dragon, as she was told, rather harshly, that she would not be getting a job. It was because of her still-injured wrist, the ninja said, and because she had to look after the Ultra Dragon who was perched on the roof.

But after all the fuss about it, the Hero's Suite was actually pretty cool. Lloyd could be trained from home, Flwirosh lived just a flight of stairs up, and Jinlong even got her own room. She didn't share it with Nya, or Lloyd, or anyone. It wasn't even a broom closet or anything, it was her very own room. And with each of the ninja and co. having their own room, there were _still _extra bedrooms.

And it was within her very own bedroom that Jinlong sat, happily knitting, ignoring the twinges of pain in her left wrist. She had also been told, that time by Sensei, not to knit so her wrist could heal, but that would be far too boring. Of course, she probably should've been watching Lloyd, since the ninja were all working and Nya and Wu had gone out shopping, but she wanted some alone time.

But _wanted _rarely meant _got_, as a far-too-Lloyd-sounding scream echoed from the living room. Bolting out, a spike of terror ran through Jin as she saw Skales somehow in their apartment.

"What-?! How?! Get out!" She shrieked, quickly arming herself with a broom and pointing it at the arctic blue Serpentine.

"Sssilly girl," He hissed. "Do you think that will ssstop me?"

Frankly, yes, she did, and with that confidence, she swung the broom handle at his head, which he dodged, then tried to jab it into his abdomen.

His long, clawed fingers easily stopped the broom, wrapping around its wooden handle and jerked it from his opponent's grasp.

Seeing that method exhausted, Jinlong charged at the snake, first raised high, only to get sucker punched and thrown easily against the wall, dazed.

She vaguely heard Lloyd scream again, and forced her head up, vision blurry. The snake towered over him, Lloyd was running, and suddenly Nya was there, sending a sharp kick to Skales' side.

Wu was at her side, helping Jinlong to her feet.

"Are you alright?" He asked. Jin nodded, watching in a sort of dulled awe as Nya quickly subdued the Serpentine and, with her free hand, called the police. Not that Jin really knew who the _police _were, but within 5 minutes they were at the apartment, man and woman in blue uniforms with batons at their sides.

They prompted clamped silver bracelet-like things chained together on the snake's wrists, then led him, screaming, away. Jinlong blinked.

"Lloyd, are you alright?" She asked, still a little unsure of how everything happened so fast.

"Yeah," He replied, although his voice trembled a little.

"When the ninja get back, I am _really _gonna let 'em have it," Nya seethed. "We didn't _need _this fancy apartment, but _nooooo _they _insisted _we went with it!"

And, a few minutes later, when the 4 teenagers did arrive, Nya yelled at them for very close to an hour. Wu, Jinlong, and Lloyd all left them to that, instead making themselves some tea. When, finally, her lecture stopped, she loudly announced that the team would be moving into the smaller apartment.

Jin chuckled to herself. For being the destined protectors of the savior of Ninjago, they really weren't magnificent bodyguards, and got bossed around by their collective little sister.

Then again, Nya _was _pretty scary.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Lord Garmadon has stolen the wrecked Bounty! And worse yet, he has a new, more powerful weapon! Will Jinlong be able to warn the ninja?**


	15. Hard to Kill

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Kai breaks a broom and that's literally all that happens.**

**Jinlong Voice: Chapter 15: Kai Breaks A Broom**

* * *

_Crash!_

"Whoop! Sorry, Sensei."

_Bang!_

"Hehe, my bad…"

_Snap!_

Jinlong stared, unamused, at the two halves of her broom, held in a very sheepish Kai's hands. She liked the smaller apartment, don't get her wrong, but...things tended to get broken. A lot. And that was very problematic, considering that the ninja had no source of income and could not afford to replace everything.

"How…?" She gestured to the snapped thing, a faint smile tugging at her lips. It wasn't often that the Fire Ninja looked so embarrassed, especially in front of Jin.

"I was _trying_ to show Lloyd the way to attack with a Bo staff," He defended. "It's not my fault your broom's so weak."

She sighed, taking the pieces from the taller ninja. Duct Tape would have to do, until she got a job. Well, technically, it would be a third job, since she was now the Dragon Sitter _and _House-Keeper.

"This place isn't quite suited for training, though, is it?" The dragon-girl asked, shooting a knowing smirk at Kai. "After all, there's barely any room to keep all your hair gel."

The spikey-haired teen rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah, whatever. Weren't you in favor of living here?"

"Of course," Jin tossed the ruined broom onto her sleeping bag. "But just because we live here does not mean we have to train Lloyd here, too."

"Sorry to be such a downer, but we don't have money for a dojo," Cole said.

"Why would we need money? Can't you just find a dojo that wouldn't mind sharing its space?"

"We might," Zane said. "According to the ads in the newspaper, there is a smaller dojo within walking distance."

"Great!" Jay cried. "Let's check it out."

"Hey, Sensei, wanna come with us?" Kai asked. "What about you, sis?"

"I have my own business to attend to," Wu told him.

"Sure, I'll go," Nya said at the same time.

As the ninja and co. prepared to leave, Lloyd came up to Jin.

"I'm sorry about your broom," He said. The dragon-girl grinned and ruffled his hair as she'd seen the others do.

"Don't worry about it," She said. "It's nothing a little Duct Tape can't fix."

"Hey, Jin, ya comin'?" Cole called from the door, and Lloyd scampered over to him.

"No, sorry," She answered. "I've gotta help Flwirosh get their wing strong again.

Kai gave her an odd look. "Why do you keep calling it Flwirosh?"

"Because, they're an Ultra Dragon now. When 4 dragons merge into one, you take the first two letters of each of their names, and put them together to make the Ultra Dragon's name."

"Why not just call it Ultra?"

"Aw, that's not important," Cole butt in. "Come on, let's get going."

After they left, Jin said goodbye to Sensei, before heaving open a partially-cleaned window. She crawled out and leapt from the ledge to the slight overhang of the roof just above, then swung the rest of her body up and landed in a crouch.

"Hi, Flwirosh," She greeted. "How's your wing feel today? Good enough to fly, do you think?"

"_Hello, Jinlong_," The Ultra Dragon responded. "_Our wing is feeling much better than it did even yesterday. We believe flying is very possible today_."

"Great! Wanna go out now?"

"_Alright_."

With a loud cheer, Jinlong shifted into a dragon, wincing and immediately flying a few feet up as she heard the roof begin to crack.

'Come on', she signaled with her head, since Changing Dragons could not speak as dragons. Flwirosh flapped their great wings, tentatively at first, but then gathering confidence and lifting into the air.

Jinlong led the way, trying to keep herself from going too fast, but finding it rather difficult. After the whole Devourer fiasco and her do-or-die flying attempt, she had been able to fly freely, no matter how high. That was an unusual thing for a dragon of her age, and she adored it.

Spiraling through the air, looping and twisting and turning, the warm, early-morning air slicing through her golden mane. _This_, Jinlong thought, _is freedom._

It was a real shame that Lloyd would never be able to do this, though he was part dragon, according to his father. To fly, on your own accord, wherever you pleased, was a special kind of happiness that Jinlong thought everyone should have, at least once.

As they flew away from the city, over the ocean, Jinlong thought of Shuilong the Water Dragon. She was older than the Gold Dragon, but not by very much, only a few years. For the oddest reason, however, Nya reminded Jin of Shuilong. She wasn't sure why- Shuilong looked nothing like the black-haired girl, even as a human. But something about them…

"_Jinlong_," Flwirosh gasped. "_Look- the Bounty. But something is very wrong._"

As the flying ship came closer, a deep shudder ran through Jinlong. Something was wrong, and she knew exactly what. The 4-armed man on the bow said everything. Garmadon had found it, repurposed it, and was now going to try and kill them presumably with the shiny gold weapon in his hands.

"A perfect target," He muttered. "The ninja's pets!"

He pointed the weapon at them, screamed "Fire!" and Jinlong braced for impact...but it never came. Garmadon looked as confused as her.

"Destroy!" He tried again, and when that didn't work, "Kill! Demolish! Crush! Dismantle!"

As he went off on an honestly impressive list of synonyms for 'destroy', Flwirosh and Jinlong chose to hastily make their escape. As they streaked past the ship, heading further across the ocean, nothing happened and neither were destroyed. If she could've, Jin would've laughed in relief.

oOo

Pirates. There were skeletons and Serpentine, so why shouldn't there also be pirates?

_You have _got _to be kidding_, Jinlong inwardly groaned as she saw not only pirates- who, might she add, appeared to have somehow taken over the Bounty in the 30 minutes since she'd last seen it- but also the ninja, tied up on the deck.

"_We suppose it is up to us dragons to save them?_"

Jinlong nodded, and the two- or 6, depending on how you looked at it- dragons dove for the ship. Flwirosh, being bulkier and less agile, focused instead on using their powers while Jinlong slithered right above the ship, before shifting into a human and dropping onto the deck.

"A pajama woman?" A pirate asked, looking at her.

"Nope," Jin cried, roundhouse kicking the pirate as hard as she could. "Just a dragon!"

She ran over to her tied-up friends, pulling out her pocket knife and cutting through the ropes. They sprang up, Nya called her suit, and a confident smirk spread over Jinlong's face.

With their combined power, the battle was easy, if it could even be called a battle. Well, it wasn't so easy for Lloyd, who was still very new to fighting, but in a surprising move, when cornered, a bright green tornado enveloped him briefly, knocking all of his enemies back.

"I did it!" He gushed once the fight was over and the pirates had been apprehended. "I did Spinjitzu!"

"Great job, pint size!" Nya said from her suit.

But before Jin could congratulate him, or ask how she could do that, the ship suddenly jerked sideways, sending the ninja, Jin, and Nya toppling off the side. Thankfully, Flwirosh caught them all(save for Nya, who was flying with her suit).

"Pesky ninja," A voice seethed from the Bounty.

"Garmadon," Jinlong called as the Ultra Dragon flew off. "Try harder next time! Pirates aren't gonna cut it with people as hard to kill as us!"

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: A simple shopping trip goes wrong for Jin! Will she be able to face everyday problems? Find out tomorrow!**


	16. Kiss of the Dragon

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong gets mugged! Fortunately, though, she is a dragon. But what will the robbers think of this?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 16: Kiss of the Dragon**

* * *

"I really hope no one else comes up here," Jinlong groaned, looking over the torn-up roof and broken shingles. "Because there is _no way _we'll be able to fix this."

Flwirosh dipped all 4 of their heads. "_We apologize, but we are growing restless simply sitting here_."

"Relatable," The dragon-girl nodded. "But, uh, maybe try to keep damage to a minimum from now on?"

"_We shall see_."

A gremlin-sounding laugh startled Jin so badly she nearly leapt out of her skin. Whipping around, she saw Lloyd and Nya standing at the edge of the roof, probably having just come up.

"Were you talking to him?" The teenage girl asked.

"Of course," Jin said. "They're my friends."

"Alright," Nya shook her head a little, but had seen and heard too many strange things to bother questioning it. "The ninja will be up in a second, apparently they're taking Lloyd to his old boarding school. Some sort of ceremony."

"Cole says there's gonna be cake!" Lloyd chimed in.

"Great," The gold-haired girl nodded again. "Flwirosh wanted to do something, anyway."

She started over towards them to slide back into the apartment, but Nya kept talking.

"I got a job, by the way, at an auto body shop. I won't be able to go shopping today, so do you think you could?"

"Sure," The dragon-girl agreed, before slipping back in through the window just as the ninja were leaving.

oOo

After grabbing the portion of their money reserved for groceries, Jinlong set off towards the outdoor market. It wasn't too far from their apartment, and she got there quickly.

The smells were overwhelming, but not quite bad. Some were fruity and bright, while others were browner and softer, while others still were meaty and hearty.

Casting a quick glance down at her handwritten list, Jin searched for a stall selling carrots, leeks, and potatoes. She soon found one, and it was selling a good many other things as well.

"Sir? Could I please get a pound each of carrots, leeks, and potatoes?"

"That'll be 16 dollars, miss."

The dragon-girl stepped back, eyes wide. "That much? I-I've changed my mind. I don't need anything here."

The shopkeeper rolled his eyes with a grunt. "Then get outta here, yer holding up the line."

Her shopping went much like that for the next half hour. Every stall was either way out of her price range, or selling far-too-overripe fruits and vegetables. Even those ones were a bit pricey.

Eventually, she sat down on a bench and looked at her list and money. She'd only bought a loaf of bread, but already she was down 5 of the 50 dollars she had.

"Jeez, that's a lotta money," Jin looked up to see a boy about her age with scruffy brown hair and threadbare clothes. "Could feed me for a month, I bet."

"I'm shopping for 8 people," She told him.

"That's a lotta people," Said a voice behind her. Shudders ran down her spine, and immediately Jin packed away her money and bread, then stood up.

"No need to be afraid," Said a 3rd voice.

_Okay, yeah, I don't like where this is going. _

She lunged forward, about the break into a sprint, but two people grabbed her by the hands and held her there.

"Let me go!" She screamed, but they kicked the back of her knees, sending her feet flying out from under her, letting her captors drag her into a nearby alleyway.

"Just give us your money and we won't hurt you," The first boy said. "And maybe a kiss."

A sudden confidence swept through her. "Actually, I think you had all better run along before _I _hurt _you_."

One of her captors laughed. "You're in no position to be making threats."

She grinned smugly. "Alright, I'll kiss you."

The dragon-girl leaned forward, still smirking. When her face was just inches away from the boy's, she shifted into a dragon, baring her fangs. His face went white as a sheet.

"It's the Dragon Spirit," The oldest, a man of about 20, gasped.

The boy in front of her stumbled back, eyes wide, and the other one, a younger girl, turned tail and ran off.

"I'm so sorry," The boy cried. "We-we'll make you a shrine here! We'll do anything you want! Please just let us go!"

She blew air through her nostrils, and the males took that as a 'yes' and ran off. Jin shifted back into a human, chuckling.

But then she slipped her hand into her pocket and remembered her task.

"They'd better make me a shrine," She grumbled. "There's no way I can feed everyone on my own."

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: The ninja must race to save their dojo- literally! All the while, Lloyd eats a sandwich. What kind of sandwich is it? Find out tomorrow!**


	17. Meals on Wings

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Dareth's dojo is about to get destroyed! Can the ninja get enough money to save it?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 17: Meals on Wings**

* * *

Jinlong yawned, rubbing her bleary eyes, wondering how in Kigana the ninja weren't tired. It was barely 6:30, but they'd already been training for quite some time, in a small dojo belonging to a man named Dareth. He was a funny sort of guy, but Jin had a sneaking suspicion that he didn't mean to be.

"Hey, guys," The man in brown sauntered into the room, an uneasy look on his pale face. "I've got some bad news."

"Not now, Dareth, we're busy," Kai waved him off. Dareth shifted his feet.

"Yeah, about that-"

"_Not. Now._"

"C'mon, let him speak," Cole said. Kai rolled his eyes, and Lloyd copied the action.

"Well, you see, I'm a little behind on the rent for this place-"

"We couldn't care less."

"-and it's going to get demolished tomorrow."

"Wait, _what_?"

Jinlong snapped awake. That didn't sound good.

"Can't you just pay?" She asked. "Don't you make money from giving lessons?"

Dareth sighed dramatically. "I wish. This place runs on a shoestring budget, and thanks to the Devourer, people have started movin' out of the city, and I get less business."

"Stinks," Jay looked at him. "Know of any other dojos around here?"

"Actually, I was wonderin' if you guys could give me a hand. Got any cash?"

Kai squinted his eyes. "Are you hitting up jobless teenagers for money?"

Dareth sighed again and looked down. Jin couldn't help but feel pity for him; that dojo was really all he had.

"Maybe we can help," Nya piped up from across the room. "There's the annual Ninjaball Run tomorrow, and the grand prize is 10,000."

"10,000?!" Dareth yelped. "That's enough to keep this place goin' for a year!"

"And I've been fixing up the Ultra Sonic Radar," The black-haired girl added. "So we'd have a vehicle."

"Sounds fun," Cole nodded. "Why not?"

"Lloyd and I can enter, too," Jin said. "On Flwirosh. That should up our chances."

"Great," Nya beamed. "It's decided, then."

oOo

"On your mark...get set...GO!"

With a jolt, Flwirosh was rocketing forward, and Jin held tightly onto Lloyd to keep the gremlin from flying off.

"This is _awesome_!" He cheered, eyes wide. Poor kid. He'd never get to fly on his own, never know how dull riding on a dragon was in comparison to actually _being _one.

The Ultra Dragon was intelligent, mostly thanks to Shard, and so they needed no steering or guidance as they zipped above the other racers.

"Where're the ninja?" Lloyd asked over the howling wind. "I can't see them!"

Looking around, the dragon-girl saw that her best friend was right. The ninja were nowhere to be seen, and she couldn't remember seeing them take off at the starting line, either. Good thing the Warriors Two had decided to enter…

The blond children were nearly thrown from Flwirosh's back multiple times as the 4-headed dragon made sharp turns and eventually began to navigate through towering birch trees. The jolting was beginning to hurt Jin's head and neck, and give her motion sickness, but Lloyd didn't seem to be having that problem, seeing as he was eating a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.

"There! The ninja!" Lloyd pointed down at something, voice muffled through his sandwich, but the dragon-girl didn't look. Her dark green eyes were locked ahead of them, watching as racers jostled and slowly began to creep ahead of them.

"Faster, Flwirosh," She urged. The dragon surged forward, weaving through the trees as dizzying speeds.

"WATCH OUT!" The gremlin yelped, and suddenly they were flying off of the Ultra Dragon and upside-down in a snow drift.

Jin sat up, shaking the snow out of her golden hair and tugging Lloyd upright. Both their heads were spinning, and they looked up to see the 4-headed dragon above them, looking apologetic. The competitors raced by.

"_We're sorry, we got distracted by the ninja_," Flwirosh said, casting all 8 eyes downwards.

"It's alright," Lloyd muttered, and Jin stared at him, taken aback. "But I lost my sandwich."

"You can understand them?"

"Huh?" He looked up at her. "Yeah, a'course. Can't you?"

"Yes, I can, but…" _I'm a dragon. _Lord Garmadon _had _said that Lloyd was ¼ dragon, but she hadn't believed it, really. But the gremlin did have bright red eyes, and sharp little fangs.

"We're disqualified now," He said. "If the ninja don't win, Dareth's dojo will-"

"Ah, don't think about that," The dragon-girl commanded, hauling Lloyd to his feet and back onto the Ultra Dragon, before hopping on herself. "Come on, Flwirosh, let's meet them at the finish line. Because they _are _going to win.

The massive dragon lifted into the air, and soared far above the trees this time. They avoided the course all together, since it didn't matter anymore.

Surprisingly, though, they still only arrived at the finish line a few minutes before the ninja, and Lord Garmadon in the stolen Bounty. By some miracle, the ninja _did _win, and Jinlong didn't even hear the explanation of how. She and Lloyd were too busy climbing up the Bounty from the back, and then charging at Garmadon, who was facing the ninja. They pushed him off, and he landed on his feet, catlike.

"Lloyd?" He sounded astonished. The boy grinned.

"Hi, dad. Do you have a sandwich by any chance?"

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: The ninja get turned into little kids and are being hunted by a monster! Will Jinlong be able to save them? Find out tomorrow!**


	18. Enter the Green Ninja

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: The ninja are turned into little kids, leaving Jinlong and Lloyd to try and change them back! Will they succeed? And at what cost?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 18: Enter the Green Ninja**

* * *

"Hey, Lloyd, focus. Come on, kid."

The gremlin sighed, slowly turning from where he'd been looking over the railing.

"Do I have to?" He groaned. "Can't we take a break?"

"What?" Kai challenged playfully. "Tired already?"

"No," The boy said defensively. "But I _always _train. Why can't I go and play like the other kids?"

"Because you are not like the other kids," Jin told him, setting a hand on his bony shoulder. "You're a ninja, and you have to train to defeat your father."

He groaned again. "But that's no _fair_!"

Cole ruffled his hair, offering a sad smile. "Life ain't fair, kiddo."

Then, as tended to happen, the alarm suddenly blared to life and Nya ran above deck where the ninja and Jinlong had been training Lloyd.

"Serpentine have been spotted with Lord Garmadon at the museum," She said.

The ninja sighed.

"Lloyd, you stay here," Jay quickly told him as they ran towards the Bridge. "Keep training with Jin."

Then they were off, and Lloyd had melodramatically collapsed onto the deck, groaning. Jin and Nya shared a grin, then hauled the blond boy to his feet.

"Come on, pint size," The black-haired girl challenged. "Show me whatcha got."

oOo

A few hours later, the Trio of Terror finally stopped training, although that was mostly because Wu came up.

"The ninja have been gone a long time," He noted. "Come along, Nya. We should search for them."

After they left, it had taken very little convincing on Lloyd's part for Jinlong to end the training, because she wasn't used to such prolonged exercise and was pretty tired.

"You're so much cooler than the ninja," Lloyd gushed happily. "They're always telling me I've gotta train all day, but I'm just a kid! I don't wanna."

"Mmm," The dragon-girl nodded absently, pulling out some yarn and knitting needles. "Hey, Lloyd, what's your favorite color?"

"Gold," He answered immediately. "The ninja think it's green, cuz all their favorite colors match up with their gis, but not mine."

"Great," She said, and began to knit. She hadn't been doing it for very long when the telephone inside rang, startling her. Lloyd was reading comics and didn't seem to have noticed, so she got up and answered it.

"_Hey, Lloyd? Jin?_" Came a high-pitched voice that sounded a little like Kai's. "_Are you there_?"

"Yes," Jinlong answered. "Who is this? Kai?"

"_Yeah. There's no time to explain- just meet us at Buddy's Pizza, okay_?"

"I don't know where that is."

"_Lloyd does_," He assured. "_Oh, and bring our weapons_!"

The connection was cut, and Jin slowly put the phone back. She wandered back onto the deck and called to Lloyd, "The ninja need our help. Do you know where Buddy's Pizza is?"

He looked up. "Yeah. Why?"

"The ninja called and told us to meet them there, and to bring their weapons."

He stood up, stretched, and frowned. "They didn't say why?"

Jin shook her head.

"Weird. But I'll show you where Buddy's Pizza is. It's kinda far, though, so we should hurry."

oOo

"Oh. My goodness," Jin gushed. "You're _adorable_!"

The now-little-kid-ninja glared at her from under baseball caps, while Lloyd was in hysterics, laughing about 'that's what you get'.

"It's not funny!" Jay cried. "The Grundle's after us, and we can't even do Spinjitzu!"

"What am _I _supposed to do?" Lloyd laughed. "I'm just a helpless little kid, remember?"

"Lloyd, this is serious!" Kai yelled, which calmed the boy down a little.

"Okay, okay. I think I know someone who can help. But it's across the city."

Cole groaned. "We can't take the bus without an adult."

"I'll go with you," Jinlong offered.

"Uh, no offense, Jin, but you're barely older than Lloyd," Kai deadpanned. The dragon-girl's face turned a bit pink, making her gold freckles stand out even more.

"I am not!" She cried. "He's 9, and I'm 14!"

"The legal driving and working age is 14," Zane informed her. "I do believe that you will count as a chaperone."

"Haha! Take _that_, Kai!"

"You look, like, 11!" The fire ninja crossed his arms. "Whatever, let's just go."

oOo

The helpful someone that Lloyd knew turned out to be the owner of a small comic store in downtown Ninjago City. The place was pretty neat, actually, and Jin soon found herself wandering through the isles of colorful paper books.

"Reptile Sphere X, Oni Killer, Two Kick Woman, Momo's Normal Quest, Hockey the Wrestler…" She read out loud. "Wow, what even are these?"

She eventually ended up picking up the latest copy of 'Reptile Sphere X' and flipping through it. The art style was interesting, but what she thought was really cool was that all the characters could fly. Lloyd, she decided, would like it. She looked around for him and ended up peering out a window, realizing that it was almost nighttime. Didn't the ninja say that the 'Grundle' came out at night?

Right on cue, an ominous cracking sound came from the glass roof, and she heard Jay gasp, "It's here!"

Just as she tried to run over to the group of children and the store owner, the Grundle came crashing through the roof, sending glass raining down. Jin grimaced as a few sharps cut her face and forearms.

"Jin! Get all the kids to safety!" Cole yelled, and the dragon-girl realized that from her position, behind the reptilian beast, that task would be much easier. She set to work, coaxing the children and eventually even the store owner to crawl under a fallen metal beam at the Grundle's side and run out the exit.

While she did that, the ninja tried to battle the Grundle with cheap flashlight-esque sticks, which quickly broke.

"Uhh, guys?" Jay laughed nervously as the Grundle backed them into a corner. "We _do_ have a plan, right?"

Just then, Nya and Wu burst into the shop, with their trademark perfect timing.

"We have Tomorrow's Tea," Nya cried. "It'll destroy the Grundle and age all of you up!"

How did she know about their predicament? Before Jin had time to ask, Nya threw it at them, and Lloyd caught it, an unreadable expression on his face.

"Lloyd," Kai muttered. "What about him…?"

The Grundle snarled, closing in. Jin couldn't see what happened, but suddenly there was an herbal scent floating around the store, the Grundle was just a pile of bones, and they ninja were back to normal.

"It worked!" They cheered, but fell silent as Lloyd slowly stood up. Jin's jaw dropped. Her best friend, who had been a little gremlin, no taller than her waist, was suddenly at least 5'4, with longer, wilder hair and _green _eyes.

"I'm...older," He whispered in a much deeper voice than previously.

"The final battle draws nearer," Sensei said, but Jinlong hardly noticed.

"What the heck?" She hissed, although not angrily. "Why do you get to be taller than me now?"

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Lloyd's very existence is threatened when his father goes back in time! Will the ninja be able to stop him? Find out tomorrow!**


	19. The Mostly True Story of Miss Jin Shu

**i entirely forgot to post this chapter yesterday im sorry**

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong must keep Lloyd distracted from his hovering doom, and tells made-up stories about her childhood to do so.**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 19: The Mosty True Story of Miss Jin Shu**

* * *

Jinlong chuckled to herself as she visited, once again, the shrine that the street kids had made for her. They kept restocking it, too, so it was an easy way to get a few dollars, an orange, or whatever else they'd put there.

She _did _feel a little bad about it, though. It felt like she was lying, even though she'd never breathed a word about being a 'dragon spirit' or wanting a shrine. But it was there, so she figured she might as well make us of it.

That day, the dragon-girl had gotten a shiny red apple, and 2 shiny coins. They weren't gold, which made sense considering that the street kids were probably poor, but it was still disappointing. Jin adored gold.

As she neared the spot where the Bounty was parked(anchored?), she saw that the ship was about to take off. A spike of alarm shot through her, and she quickly jogged up the plank.

"What's going on?" She asked. They weren't due to leave for another few days.

"Lord Garmadon's been spotted near Ouroborus," Nya informed her from the Bridge. "Sensei says he's up to something really bad this time."

Jin frowned, nodded. She hurried to put her apple and coins in her room, then climbed on top of the Bridge, before letting out a sharp, loud whistling noise.

There was, in the distance, a short, guttural roar in response, and Jinlong nodded in satisfaction.

"Are you talking to Ultra?"

She nearly jumped out of her skin at the unfamiliar voice, but caught herself in time and turned around, looking down at a blond teenager. No one was really used to Lloyd being older, and least of all the boy himself. He tripped over his feet, ran into things that used to tower over his head but were now eye-level with him, and was generally like a puppy who didn't realize its own size.

"Yeah," She said. "I just told them where we were going. They like to know."

Lloyd said nothing. The dragon-girl sighed, wishing she knew how to help her friend. He'd gone from 9 to, like, 14 in a matter of seconds. No one really expected him to act like a teenager just yet, but it still had to be strange.

They arrived at the abandoned city soon after, and the ninja, plus Wu, all rushed off. Nya and Jin stayed behind, drinking tea together, since all the chores had been done already.

"Hey, Jin, you never told me what it was like where you grew up," The black-haired girl noted.

"Oh," Since her secret was out, she supposed it didn't really matter if she told them or not. "Well, for starters, my name's actually Jinlong the Gold Dragon. Jin was just an...uh...al-ali…"

"Alias."

"Yeah. It was just an alias, because I didn't know what names were like in Ninjago."

Nya took a sip of her tea. "Well, why'd you need an alias? You could have just told us you're a dragon. We like dragons, in case you were unaware."

Jin smiled a little. "Yeah, well in Kigana, humans are far less pleasant. They tend to, uh, kidnap, exploit, and murder dragons. So I was a little hesitant."

"Oh. I'm sorry."

"Aw, don't be. That was on the mainland. I lived on Huan, which is an island, so I never actually even saw the humans there."

The door suddenly flung open, and Wu stood there, supporting a very-dazed-looking Lloyd. Both girls were immediately on their feet, hovering worriedly around the two.

"Is he alright? Is he injured? What happened?" Jin demanded, talking a million miles and hour. "Did Garmadon do this? Where're the ninja? What do we do?"

The old man set his nephew down on the sofa. "The ninja are fighting Garmadon in the past. If they fail, I cannot tell what will happen."

"Would...would Lloyd disappear?"

"I do not know."

A surge of anger filled her, but she quickly fought it down, remembering her vow of maturity. She crossed the room, pulled up a chair across from Lloyd, and looked him in the eye.

"Lloyd," She spoke gently but firmly. "Lloyd, look at me. Did I ever tell you the story of how I came to be in Ninjago?"

"Hmm? U-uh, no, I don't…"

The dragon-girl forced a smile. "Well then, listen up! It's quite the tale."

She was aware of Sensei and Nya also pulling up seats, the three of them forming a half-circle around Lloyd.

"So, it all began, as stories tend to, with my parents. My mother's name is Tianlong the Heavenly Dragon, and my father is Langlong the Wolf Dragon. After they married, they had a son, Dalong the Big Dragon, and after that, a daughter named Maolong the Cat Dragon. Finally, they had me, Jinlong the Gold Dragon."

"Y'never said that w's your name…" Lloyd slurred.

"It is," Jin nodded. "Anyway, while I was still just a hatchling- a baby, you'd say- there was this terrible storm that hit our island. My brother, Dalong, was 4 at the time and wandered out from the mountain temple, where everyone was gathered- it's the strongest building there, you see. So he wandered out, and the wind swept him clear off the mountain.

My mother was in hysterics, predictably. My sister, who was 2, didn't understand what was happening. But my father shifted into a dragon, and flew into the storm after Dalong. Little did he know, however, that I, in all my 6-month-old glory, was clinging to his back. So he was flying through the howling winds and pelting rains, my brother in his sights, when I suddenly shifted into a dragon.

Now, as we get older, our dragon forms get bigger than our human ones, but when you're a hatchling, it's the opposite. So the wind blew me away. My father grabbed Dalong and was heading back to the mountain, when he saw me, a tiny dragon, gliding through the wind. I was too young to fly, but I was smart enough to glide. I guess, anyway. He grabbed me, too, and we arrived safely at the temple and waited out the rest of the storm."

"How would you remember?" Nya asked. "If you were a baby, I mean."

_Shoot. Uh…_

"I'm a _dragon_, Nya," Jin proclaimed. "We have excellent memories. Anyway, a couple years later, when I was 6, something else happened. My sister and I were going on a walk through the forestry part of the island, when we came across this beautiful pond, with lotus flowers in it. While we were admiring it, Huilong the Water Dragon came bursting up out of it in her dragon form, which, by the way, is remarkably beautiful. So she scooped the two of us up, and flew over to the ocean. She landed in it, and zipped us out to the middle of it. That was the fastest I've ever moved in my life. Once we were there, she shifted into a human and the three of us just relaxed there for almost an hour, and then she took us back."

"Why'd she bother taking you all the way to the middle of the ocean?" Nya asked.

"She's the Water Dragon, she likes water. I dunno. So after that, when I was 9, I got into a fight with Sanshe the Sand Snake. He was maybe 16 or 17 at the time, and I thought it'd be funny if I embarrassed him in front of this dragon-girl he liked. I did, but he didn't think it was very funny, and almost drowned me in sand. I only survived because of my quick-thinking and lightning-fast reflexes; I managed to kick him in the head while he wasn't looking, and he let me go. I never messed with him again, though.

And when I was 11, I went fishing with some of the adults. We had a competition to see who could catch the most fish, and the rarest ones. I won, and caught 30 fish in an hour, including squids and Red Frog Crabs!"

The world seemed to shift, and suddenly Jinlong was unaware of where she was or what she was doing. But...she needed to do something. She had to be mature, and help someone she cared about. The story! That was it, she was telling a story.

"And on my 12th birthday, I was part of a big dance festival we were having. I'm a ribbon dancer, you see, and I had these beautiful golden silk ribbons I'd use. I was supposed to represent the sun, because of my golden hair, and freckles, and clothes, and ribbons. For lack of a better term, I'm just gold. So I was gold, and there was this other dragon-girl about my age who was the moon. She had white hair, but her face, even as a human, was a gorgeous, shining silver. Her name was Lulong the Silver-Faced Dragon. Her ribbons were longer and slimmer than mine, and, of course, silver. So we were dancing out our parts in the story, when this new dragon came twirling in, with white ribbons that were billowy and short. Yunlong the Cloud Dragon, I knew, but I hadn't been told he'd be a part of the dance. So I just sort of went off on my own routine, ignoring Yunlong and Lulong. They eventually just stood on the side of the stage as I danced.

Afterwards, I was told that Yunlong had been at all the practices, just like me, and had always been a part of the dance. I promise, though, I never knew about his part."

The world shifted again, but in a much better way. Only...had the world ever shifted before? She couldn't remember, but...she had to keep telling her story.

"I got my very first gold item when I was 13. A beautiful, shiny gold coin. Since I'm the Gold Dragon, gold actually makes me stronger, and faster, and smarter. But only when I touch it. So I carried it around with me everywhere. But, when I ended up here, in Ninjago, I didn't have it with me.

But that brings me to how I got to Ninjago. My mother was doing laundry, and I was playing hide-and-go-seek with Senshe the Forest Snake Dragon. I hid in between the sheets my mother had up to dry, but I tripped and fell over. Instead of hitting the ground, though, I kept falling. I passed out at some point, and when I woke up, I was in Yama, and I met a nice old woman who told me to go to the monastery. I did, and that's when I met you all, and the dragons."

Lloyd was looking at her, much more alert. The ninja came in, suddenly, and visibly relaxed when they saw everyone, safe and together.

"What happened?" Lloyd asked.

"Oh, nothing," Jay laughed. "Nothing at all."

The blond boy turned back to Jinlong. "Was that true? The story?"

"Well," She grinned mischievously. "Mostly."

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Jin and Nya go shopping together! But their destructive tendencies seem to get them into trouble...find out what happens later today!**


	20. Wu- Dang It!

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Nya and Jin go around getting kicked out of stores!**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 20: Wu- Dang It!**

* * *

"It's almost like we _attract _trouble instead of repelling it," Nya sighed. Jinlong was forced to agree with her; this was getting ridiculous. Not 2 minutes after they walked into the small store, a gang of robbers showed up.

"Well, since we happen to be witnesses…" The girls shared a look. Nya flipped out 4 of her at least 12 knives she kept on her, and Jin assumed a fighting stance. The robbers laughed, clearly not suspecting anything, just two normal teenage girls. Which, Jinlong noted smugly, they soon regretted as the duo pummeled them. It could barely even be called a fight; the robbers were inexperienced, clumsy, and severely lacking in teamwork.

The police arrived soon after the skirmish. Jinlong backed behind her taller friend, still not quite a fan of the blaring sirens. Nya stepped forward, explaining the situation, when the shopkeeper came storming up.

"Thank goodness you're here," The middle-aged woman exclaimed. "Arrest these two hooligans!"

"Us?" Jin frowned. "Ma'am, we're the ones who saved your shop."

"You wrecked it!" The woman yelled, gesturing to her shop, which admittedly, was a mess. Not an unfixable mess, though.

"Collateral damage," The dragon-girl shrugged and waved her hand dismissively. She had no idea what that meant, but she'd heard the ninja toss that term around before.

Nya reddened. "Ah, yeah, Jin, how about you let me talk?"

"Don't patronize me, we're the same age!"

"I am not! I just know more about this than you!"

"Now that's just plain rude. I'm smart, too!"

"I never said you weren't!"

"Um, girls?" A police officer stepped in. "I think an apology is in order to this woman."

"Not just an apology!" The lady cried. "I expect compensation! I want _justice_!"

Nya and Jin looked at each other, then bowed at the woman, simultaneously apologizing. Her face flushed in anger.

"That was the most measly apology I've ever heard! You two- you two are banned! Permanently! Never, ever come back!"

Jin scowled, but her black-haired friend pulled her away before she could say anything.

"Stupid woman," The dragon-girl muttered.

"Yeah," Nya agreed. "But it wasn't worth fighting over."

"_I _think it was. Everything is worth fighting over."

"Really? What about, like. I dunno, a grilled cheese?"

"Oh, absolutely. Especially, even."

"Good point. That was a bad example. I'd _kill _for a grilled cheese."

By and by, the girls forgot about the fiasco at the store, talking about anything that came to their minds. They ended up going to a much larger store, that was less likely to be robbed in broad daylight.

"Light Bulbs?" Jin wondered out loud, looking at the list in Nya's hand. "Why do we need Light Bulbs?"

"Jay's got quite the reputation for breaking them when he's mad, and Lloyd does too, now that he's filled with teenage rage," The girl said. "We're actually quite a destructive group."

Her point was only proven once they got into the Light Bulb isle. Nya grabbed a box and tossed it at Jin, who was carrying the basket. She caught it, but had jumped up to do so, and when she landed, she stumbled backwards, right into the shelf.

"Oh, shoot-" Jin watched, in horror, as the shelf filled entirely of breakable objects wobbled briefly, before toppling over with a _crash_ and the tinkling of hundreds of Light Bulbs.

"Well," She said flatly. "At least no one was on the other side."

They got kicked out of that store, too, and quite possibly banned. The manager was unclear on that part.

"Sorry about that," Jin muttered, eyes downward. That'd been _real _mature of her. "I really am."

"Don't sweat it," Nya yawned. "The guys have been banned from at least 4 restaurants, and they've known each other for barely over a year."

"That little of time? I thought they'd practically been raised together, the way they act."

"Well they kind of _are _being raised together. Cole's the oldest, and he just turned 16 a few months ago."

Jin whistled as they arrived in the open-air market Jin had been to on her own before. "All things considering, they're really young."

Nya chuckled. "Yeah, but you're the youngest. Besides Lloyd, anyway, however his age works now."

"Nuh-uh, you're 14, too!"

The girl grinned slyly. "Not for long. It'll be my birthday in less than a month."

A sudden realization flickered across her face and she stopped short. "Wu- dang it!"

"What?"

"It's Sensei's birthday tomorrow! I entirely forgot…"

Jin blinked. "I never even thought of him having a birthday. What are we going to do for him, then?"

"We've only got enough money to make him a nice meal or something."

"What's his favorite meal?"

"I know he likes gyoza and tonkatsu, but I don't know how to make those, or what you'd need to do it."

"I'll bet Zane knows. Have you got the phone?" Jin asked.

Nya nodded, pulling the flip-phone from her pocket. Since discovering he was a Nindroid, Zane had been able to build a phone into his brain, so the ninja could directly call him. Nya spoke with him for a short while, writing some stuff down on the back of her list, then hung up.

"Alright, so I've got the list of ingredients, and Zane also says he remembers Wu liking dango, but we're just gonna buy that because we're cheap. 'Kay?"

Jin laughed. "'Kay."

oOo

"Nya, Jin, this is Lloyd's mother, Misako."

Naturally, the dragon-girl's first reaction to the old lady was anger. She'd abandoned her son at an evil boarding school, after all, and emotionally scarred him.

"Hello, girls," Misako greeted, but got only silence in return. Nya, evidently, felt just as Jin did.

Lloyd, from behind his mother, blushed and rubbed the back of his head. "Uh, guys? It's fine. We- we made up."

"_You _may have," Nya said boldly. "But I haven't. This is the woman who left you at Darkley's, and let you wander around on the streets, homeless and starving?"

"Yep. That's, uh. That's her."

"_And _the woman who never bothered to try and contact you, to try and see if you were safe?"

"Yeah."

"Nya," Wu cut in.

"No, Wu, she's right," Misako sighed. "I did a lot of things wrong. I just- I didn't know what else to do."

That was a pretty weak excuse, even to Jin's ears.

"Are you sorry?" The dragon-girl asked her.

"Yes," The woman said, and she sounded sincere. "I am. I-I wish I could go back, and fix things, and make up for lost time, but...the past is the past, and the future is the future. I can only try to fix things now."

"Then I forgive you, too." Jinlong declared.

Nya looked at her as if she was insane, and for a second, the dragon-girl considered taking back her words. But she'd be lying if she did, and that didn't sound mature at all.

"If Lloyd forgives you, then I do too," She stated. "After all, he's the one you hurt. So I forgive you."

Wu smiled, and if Jin wasn't mistaken, she thought he looked almost proud.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: A seemingly-invincible army invades Ninjago City, an omen that the Final Battle is coming. What can the ninja do to stop it? Find out tomorrow!**


	21. The Invincible Army

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: A fearsome stone army attacks Ninjago City! What will become of the citizens?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 21: The Invincible Army**

* * *

"Happy Birthday, Sensei!"

The ensuing celebration was, to say the least, very unfamiliar to Jin. Birthdays _were _celebrated on Huan, but not with such extravagance as a party. But that was the way things had to be, she supposed, when you lived on an island with limited resources. Ninjago was way more fun, though.

They lined up in opposite rows facing each other, and played Breaking The City Gates, at the dragon-girl's request. They'd eaten the meal that Nya and Jin cooked, to Wu's delight. Zane had beaten all of them in chess- even Wu- at least 3 times by the time they all went to bed.

Well, almost everyone went to bed. Jinlong stayed up to clean, since it _was _her job, and Lloyd and Wu stayed, too.

"How old are you, Uncle?" The blond boy asked, resting his head on the table.

"Old."

"But _how _old?" He pestered, and Jin was, once more, reminded that Lloyd was only 8 years old.

"Very, very old."

Jin snickered at Lloyd's childish whine, and she thought she even saw Wu crack a smile under his beard.

After a while of silence, save for the washing of dishes, Jinlong spoke up. "Sensei, who all knows you're half dragon?"

Her back was turned to the old man, but she could hear the subtle surprise in his voice. "No one besides Garmadon and Misako, or so I had believed. It was foolish of me to assume you would not find out."

"You're a dragon?" Lloyd yawned, then stopped halfway through. "Wait, does that mean my dad is, too?"

Wu sighed. "Yes, but only half. We are also both half oni, just as our father was."

"Does that mean _I'm _part dragon and oni?"

"It does."

"Whoa…" The pseudo-teenager frowned a bit in thought. "Actually, that sorta makes sense, with the fangs and red eyes and stuff."

He frowned deeper. "Well, used-to-be-red eyes, I guess."

"Sensei, why don't you have fangs?" Jin asked.

"Do you assume I don't?"

"That's a good point, I rarely see your mouth under your moustache."

A moment of silence, and then Lloyd asked, "What's an oni?"

Jin blinked. Was Ninjago really that oblivious to the most evil creatures in the universe? But then that thought just sparked another: was Kigana technically the same universe as Ninjago? Was '_uni_verse' even the right word, since there were 16 realms?

"They are the opposite of dragons," Wu answered, dragging Jinlong from her thoughts. "While dragons create, oni destroy. They are shape-shifters, masters of disguise and trickery. But they are not evil, as my father would say. They had an overwhelming urge to destroy, but it was only natural. It was not evil."

This, for some reason, sparked a deep rage in Jinlong.

"Not evil?" She repeated. "Oni are evil incarnate! They-they…"

What had they done? They'd done something, something to her personally. But when, and what?

"As a dragon, it is only natural that you would think that," The old man said. Jin scrunched up her face.

"Aren't you a dragon, too? Can't you see what- what they've _done_?"

"What _have _they done?"

Words failed her, and the dragon-girl stood, facing her seated Sensei, mouth hanging open stupidly. They _had _done something awful, and she knew it! But she couldn't remember what…

"I'm not sure. Something. A very bad something, too," She ended up saying. Not quite as articulate as she'd have liked.

"Hey, if I'm part dragon, does that mean I'll be able to turn into one, like Jin?" Lloyd cut in.

"Likely not," Wu replied. "Jin is a Changing Dragon, while you are part Elemental Dragon."

"Dang," He pouted. "No fair."

"Hey, how'd you know I'm a Changing Dragon?"

"My father created Changing Dragons," Sensei said. "They were his first creation. He told me that they were the only creatures, other than oni, who could change their form."

"Did you know I was a dragon before I told you?"

"Yes," He said. "It makes sense you have done the same."

oOo

Jinlong was awoken far too early the next morning, no later than 5. She hadn't gone to bed until well after midnight, so when Nya hauled her upright, yelling something, her brain honestly could not comprehend what was happening.

It was only once she was on deck, somehow dressed in her normal clothes and not her pajamas, that she could make sense of words.

"There's an earthquake! Misako said it has to do with the coming of the Final Battle," Cole said. "We have to make sure everyone is safe. There've been reports of a Stone Army that's entirely invincible, so be careful."

"Right!" The ninja cried, and were off. Nya called her suit to her, and, with a thrill of joy, Jin realized that she had been invited to go on the mission with them, even if indirectly. She shifted into a dragon and launched into the dawn sky, roaring to call the Ultra Dragon to help, too.

The two flew around the city, pulling people from rubble whenever they saw them, avoiding the strange Stone Warriors, until Samurai X came up next to them.

"The ninja are being overrun by Stone Warriors! We can't defeat them. We have to get everyone out of the city! Bring them to the top of the NGTV tower, it's the tallest one in the city!"

Jin barked in acknowledgment, and dove down to grab some civilians. She hoped they wouldn't be too scared, being snatched by two massive dragons and all. Oh well. Better afraid than dead.

The next half hour was, at that point in time, the most hectic of Jinlong's life. She and Flwirosh zipped all across the city, grabbing any and everyone, occasionally running into the ninja, Nya, Wu, and Misako, who were doing the same. Eventually, Zane called out, in an inhumanly loud voice that reached all across the city, that they had gotten everyone, and that they needed to be loaded onto the Bounty.

Which turned out to be an issue. There was _no way _that everyone was going to fit on the ship, no matter what they tried. Thankfully, Nya accounted for this, and along with her suit, had brought several tank-like trucks to use.

"Flwirosh and I can carry people," Jin offered, having momentarily shifted back into a human. Most of the little kids, and some of the older ones, opted to ride on the dragons.

And just like that, before 8 o'clock, Ninjago City was deserted, and Jinlong hadn't even gotten a chance to try fighting the reason why.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: The ninja and co. set sail for the Dark Island! But what will they find on the way there? Find out tomorrow!**


	22. Tower of Death

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: As the ninja and co. set sail for the Dark Island, they encounter a lone tower at sea. What secrets could it hold? Find out today!**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 22: Tower of Death**

* * *

Jinlong laughed, running- though not as fast as she could, for the sake of the children having fun- in spiraling, wild twists. Behind her, in a long line, quite a large group of evacuated children twisted behind her, their hands on the shoulders of the child before them, running. Jin was chasing the last child, the 'dragon's tail'. She'd played this game a thousand times before, 'Catching the Dragon's Tail', but it was far more fun with such a number of players.

"Jin! Jin, we're setting sail now!" Lloyd called from the Bounty.

The dragon-girl faltered, stumbling to a stop with a frown. The children stopped, too, looking up at her with round eyes.

"I've gotta be going now," She said apologetically. "Simon, you can lead now. Bye!"

The kids all groaned, or whimpered, besides from the now-elated Simon. Jin turned and jogged back onto the ship, standing beside the ninja, Wu, Misako, and Nya. They looked out over Kaiyo, the little seaside town they'd brought the evacuees to, waving at a few who had come to see them off. Cole's dad was there, Jay's parents, and a number of their fans. The Ultra Dragon had flown off that morning, since they didn't like staying put.

She knew that Kai and Nya's parents had either died or ran off long ago, and Lloyd's father was the very person they were going off to defeat. But she didn't know anything about Zane's parents. Granted, he _was _a robot and therefore wasn't born, but who built him? She was too embarrassed to ask.

They set off soon afterward, and slowly, slowly, Ninjago faded from view. It must have been odd for her friends, Jin realized, leaving the only continent they'd ever known. But it wasn't all that strange for her. After all, she'd inadvertently done that, like, 2 months ago.

Eventually, they all wandered into the Bridge, watching the screen that the falcon was relaying its vision to. The Dark Island was real, apparently. Jin had been doubtful at first, and she wasn't sure why. The past few months had proved to her that _nothing _was too weird to happen.

As they watched, though, they saw one of the Stone Warriors shoot an arrow, flying towards the camera, before the feed was cut. Jin gasped, looking over at a distraught Zane. He was incapable of crying, he'd said, but he looked near tears now.

"He...he was my only family," The nindroid whispered.

Jin stood up suddenly, forcing up a brave face.

"We're your family, Zane," She said. "And when we reach the Dark Island, we'll get the falcon back and fix him."

"Jin's right," Cole declared. "We're all family now."

oOo

There was a terrible storm that night, one that tossed the ship about so much that the ninja+co. ended up huddled in the lowest part of the ship, holding onto each other and the walls to keep from going flying.

The next morning, very early, when the tempest subsided, they ventured above deck to see that the sail had been torn badly, and the mast was near breaking.

"What a storm," Misako remarked. "I'm glad we all made it out okay."

"Aw, the poor Bounty," Cole sighed. "Get's wrecked all the time, and you don't even count it as part of the team."

"All the _people_," Misako corrected. "And dragon."

"Hey, look, there's a tower in the distance," Jay called from on top of the cabin. "We should try and stop there to make repairs."

They managed to steer the ship in that direction, although without their sail, it was slow going. So slow, in fact, that they didn't reach the tower until almost 2 days later.

"It looks like a tower of death," Jin muttered as they all got out, the Bounty anchored firmly next to the dock. "I think it's abandoned. No one could or _would _live all the way out here."

She was quickly proven wrong, however, when an old man came hustling down the stairs from the tower, presumably to meet them.

"Hello, weary traveler-" He stopped short when he caught sight of Zane, and a wide smile suddenly broke over his weathered, aged face.

"Zane!" He cried, running down the stairs and embracing the nindroid.

"Have...we met before?" The ice ninja asked.

"Of course! It's me, Dr. Julien. Oh, silly of me- have you discovered your memory switch?"

Slowly, Zane, too, began to grin. "Father?"

oOo

The remainder of the day was spent talking to this 'Dr. Julien', who Jin was a little wary of. He told them of how he was captured by the skeleton army, who forced him to build their machines, and how they'd even chained a leviathan up in the ocean to keep him from escaping. He'd stopped receiving supplies about a year ago, and had been living off of the fish and seaweed he could gather.

"You'll come with us, won't you, Father?" Zane asked. "We're headed for the Dark Island."

"Certainly!" The old man replied. "So long as you'll let me, that is."

"We'd be honored to, but our ship needs repairs," Lloyd explained. "Could you maybe give us a hand?"

The next day, Dr. Julien, Jay, Nya, and Zane were all hard at work with the repairs to the Bounty's mast and engines(which, apparently, had been eaten away at by some monstrosity called starteeth), while the rest of the ninja+co. worked on sewing up the sail.

"I never knew you could sew," Jin commented absentmindedly to Lloyd. "Who taught you?"

"I just picked it up after I ran away from Darkley's," He answered. "Since I couldn't buy more clothes, I just mended my old ones."

"Oh." As per usual, she was a little sorry she asked. All her friends had...messed up lives, to say the least, before they joined the ninja team. And she hadn't. She'd lived a comfortable, safe life, tucked away on her people's island, sheltered from the hardships of the world.

Thankfully, the repairs were soon finished, and they could set sail again. Before they got far, though, Zane stood up on the railing, facing the sea.

"Hey, what're you-"

He jumped forward, sinking like a stone into the waves, and Jin may or may not have screamed as she, along with the others, rushed over to peer into the depths. Cole was climbing over the railing, about the jump in after him, when the nindroid surfaced.

"No one deserves to be held captive," He said, climbing back onboard. "Not even monsters."

"You freed the leviathan," Dr. Julien noted.

"Yeah, maybe give us a head's up next time?" Kai admonished, and they all smiled. Well, all except for Kai.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: The ninja arrive at the Dark Island! What will befall them there? Find out tomorrow!**


	23. Cutthroat Island

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong gets captured by Stone Warriors! Will she escape? And will Lloyd be able to find his true potential? Find out today!**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 23: Cutthroat Island**

* * *

"You know, when I was little, the elders would always tell us how land cannot be evil, only the things that inhabit it, but I've really gotta disagree," Jin mumbled, leaning against her shovel. "This island is _definitely _evil."

The ninja and Nya mumbled a vague agreement. After arriving at the Dark Island, they'd all heaved the Bounty inland, into the cover of the forest, and had covered it pretty well with sand. And it had taken _all day_.

"We're done here," Jay announced as Wu walked out from the ship. The old man nodded.

"Good. Misako wishes to speak with you all."

They filed inside, tossing their shovels on the floor, heading for the Bridge. Misako was there, with a few scrolls spread out over the table.

"We need to find the Temple of Light," She said, wasting no time. "There, your elemental powers will be concentrated, and Lloyd's full potential will be brought out."

"Cool," Cole nodded. "Where is it?"

"That's the issue," The elderly woman went on. "It could be anywhere on the island. All we have to find it is this medallion."

"Ooh, a medallion," Dr. Julien grabbed the golden thing from her, looking through the holes. "The temple should be located wherever the three holes match up to something."

"Neat," Nya remarked.

"Once you find the temple, Lloyd will unlock the power of the Gold Dragon, an ancient fighting technique practiced only by the First Spinjitzu Master," Misako said.

A grin spread over Jin's face, which had gotten pretty tanned during her work. "Hehe, _Gold Dragon_. That's _me_."

Ignoring her, Misako continued, "It is an immense power that is sometimes also referred to as 'golden power', and it can only arise once all 4 elements are combined."

Lloyd grinned that time, although far more smugly, at the ninja. "Jealous?"

"Alright," Wu announced. "Time is of the essence here. Go, ninja, and remember to keep out of sight. If Lord Garmadon becomes alerted of our presence, all could be lost."

"Aw, don't worry," Kai said. "When have we ever _not _been careful?"

Jin could think of a few times, and clearly Wu could too, but he decided not to pick that fight. Lloyd stepped forward to join the ninja, and Misako grabbed his arm.

"You stay here," She told him.

"Are we _still _doing this?"

"If you were to encounter Garmadon, it could prematurely start the Final Battle," His mother warned.

Jay chuckled, smirking. "Jealous?"

If Jin hadn't vowed to be mature, she probably would've punched him.

oOo

Mature she may have been(sort of), but lucky she was not. The dragon-girl had decided to go for a walk, since Lloyd and Nya were preoccupied with mechanics and whatnot, and she still didn't even know how lightbulbs worked.

The Dark Island, for being evil, was actually rather pretty. It was muggy, sure, and only boasted dark colors, but apart from that, it reminded Jinlong of Huan. A much worse Huan, but she'd take what she could get.

"I wonder if I'll ever see it again," She whispered to herself. Jin had tried not to entertain such thoughts in her time away from the island, but now that the Battle of Battles was drawing near, it was hard not to. Sure, Lloyd was almost certainly going to save this realm and she should probably have been focusing on that instead, but she had no way of getting back to her own realm.

Although, maybe it wouldn't be so bad to live in Ninjago for the rest of her life. The ninja were almost like family to her, and there was so much more to see and do than on tiny little Huan. Maybe, if she really wasn't able to return home, the ninja would offer her a spot on their team. She didn't have an elemental power, but she was a dragon…

She smiled. _The Dragon Ninja_. She quite liked the sound of that. She'd have to bring that up with Wu, the next time she saw h-

A guttural roar echoed through the jungle, and two Stone Warriors erupted from the trees in front of her. She spun around, but there were more behind her.

"Shoot, shoot, shoot," She hissed. A hand grabbed her bubble ponytail, yanking her head backwards, and she snarled in pain, trying to claw at the living statue's eyes. If it had eyes, anyway.

They made several snarled noises to each other, and it occurred to Jin that they were speaking. She almost laughed; there she was, in an exotic new place, learning about foreign cultures.

The Stone Warrior that had her by the hair suddenly let go, but before she could escape, it tossed her over its shoulder and began to walk. Struggle as she might, the thing really was made of stone, and there was absolutely no way she was breaking free.

An agonizing amount of time later(for all their strength, Stone Warriors were _slow_), around midnight, they arrived at what looked like a massive fortress.

"What do you have?" A Stone Warrior, this one taller and red, barked in broken Ninjagian.

The one holding Jinlong answered, and the taller one, likely their general, directed, "Bring her to Lord Garmadon."

"Aw, _crud_," She whispered. This. This wasn't really going to end well for her, no matter what happened. She should've asked Kai to teach her how to curse, at least then she'd have something stronger to say that 'crud'.

She was tossed on the dusty ground, and as she got up, a Stone Warrior pushed her to her knees and held her there, facing the father of her best friend, who was sitting in an elaborate black throne.

"Well, what do we have here," He sneered. "The ninja's little _pet_."

"Excuse me, but I am their dragon-sitter!" She cried indignantly.

"Interesting," Garmadon rolled his eyes, before barking to some soldiers, "Bring the Dark Matter!"

Haha. _Crud_.

"What's that?" Jin asked, her voice surprisingly level. No reply. She narrowed her eyes. "Come on, I'm just trying to make conversation! You may be evil, but you really don't have to be so rude."

Garmadon raised an eyebrow. "You really are very strange."

"Ah, thanks," She responded dryly. "You are a charmer, you."

A warrior arrived, carrying a tray of something Jin couldn't quite see. When she did catch a glimpse of it, though, she gasped.

It was _gorgeous_. Presumably very evil, but _gorgeous_. It looked gelatinous, and was a dark purple, with sparkling silver flecks floating in it.

"**Is this our first test subject**?" An awful, hideous voice wheezed from behind her. Shivers ran down her spine.

"Who the heck is that?" She demanded, twisting in the Stone Warrior's grasp, but she couldn't see anyone.

"Yes," Garmadon answered.

A stone hand pushed her face towards the tray, and try as she might, Jin couldn't even put up any resistance.

The 'Dark Matter' was really, really cold. It was agonizing at first, and she let out a cry of pain, but after a few moments, it faded to pleasantly cool. Apart from that, though, nothing changed.

"Is she evil yet?" Lord Garmadon asked. "Has it worked?"

So they were trying to turn her evil, then.

"**It's not working**," The unknown voice rasped. "**What **_**is **_**she**? **She doesn't hold any golden power, does she**?"

Jinlong burst out laughing.

"You _idiots_," She wheezed. "Of course I do! I'm the _Gold Dragon_ for crying out loud!"

"What?!" Garmadon roared, but at that moment, there was a flash of bright gold light on a mountaintop, in the vague shape of a dragon.

"**The Green Ninja has unlocked his full potential**," The raspy voice informed cooly, but everyone else seemed to be in shock. Including the guard holding Jin.

Knowing she wouldn't get another chance, she shifted into a dragon, tossing the guard aside and getting a good look at the owner of the voice- a gascious, purple blob. Weird.

She shifted back into a human, ran up to Garmadon, and decked him in the face, as hard as she could. That, she noted with satisfaction, was also something she'd never get the chance to do again.

Before she had to deal with a teenager's worst nightmare- _consequences_\- she shifted back into a dragon, and flew high into the starry sky, looping and twisting in joy. She was the Gold Dragon. She'd known it all her life. But now she knew what it _meant_.

All Changing Dragons had a little quick, a tiny power related to their name. Her brother, Dalong the Big Dragon, was abnormally tall and strong. Her sister, Maolong the Cat Dragon, could communicate with cats. And she herself, Jinlong the Gold Dragon, held a tiny bit of golden power.

Maybe she could be helpful on this cutthroat island after all.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: The Final Battle draws nearer! But Misako claims to have found a way to stop it! Will it work? Find out tomorrow!**


	24. Crouching Ninja, Hidden Dragon

**my sense of time has gotten so warped i genuinely don't know if i updated this yesterday**

**Announcer voice:Today, on Way of the Dragon: The fate of Ninjago will be decided today. But what will it be?**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 24: Crouching Ninja, Hidden Dragon**

* * *

"For being an evil island, the water is great," Jay said, floating on his back, clad in a blue tank top and basketball shorts.

"Eh, speak for yourself," Jin's head poked up from the water. "The water around Huan was a little colder, and way prettier."

"I said _for an evil island_, not _an island inhabited by dragon people_."

The dragon-girl cracked a smile, then dove back under the waves and swam a little closer to the sandy shore, emerging just in front of Lloyd with a grin.

The boy gave a half-hearted smile back, but no more. Understandably, he'd been nervous since they arrived on the island.

"Hey, Kai," Cole called from farther out in the water. "Come join us!"

The Fire Ninja, still planted on the beach, shook his head. "No thanks."

"Aw, come on," The golden-haired girl asked, swimming a little ways towards him. "Jay's right, the water is pretty nice."

"I'll pass."

Before they could pester him any more, a very ticked-looking Wu walked towards them.

"What are you doing?" He demanded. "There is work to be done."

"Sorry, Sensei," All the ninja said in union, while Jinlong just looked down. They all clambered out of the water, and began to make their way to the Bounty.

"I think I'll get a swimsuit when we get back to Ninjago," Jin said to herself, wringing water from her hair. She'd been using her pajamas(a white tank top and shorts), but everyone else had designated swimming clothes.

Lloyd grunted wordlessly and the dragon-girl frowned. It really wasn't like him to be so pessimistic.

"We _will _win," She said with certainty. "After all, we've made it this far."

"So? This is different. This is the Final Battle, and I have to fight my father."

"Yeah," Jin nodded. "But you're the Green Ninja. The prophecy says you'll win."

"Well, maybe- maybe that's the problem!" He shouted, stopping and looking Jin in the eye. "If I win, that means I'll have killed my father!"

"Maybe not!" Jinlong shouted back, although not angrily. "Maybe you don't have to! Maybe there's another way!"

"What other way?!"

"I don't know," Jin admitted, but quickly added, "But there must be a way! Think of all the crazy, unlikely things that have happened to us. Who's to say that it won't happen again?"

"Who's to say it will?"

"Me, of course," The dragon-girl flashed him a grin, the mischievous kind they used to share when Lloyd was still a little kid. Well, technically he still was, but...not as much.

"And how would you know?"

_Ouch. That would've worked just a few weeks ago_. "I'm a _dragon_, Lloyd. I know these sorts of things."

And Firstborne, did Jinlong hope she wasn't lying.

oOo

By some sheer luck or a miracle, she had been right. Once they'd all dried off and changed, Misako told them about something called the Celestial Clock, which counted down time until the Final Battle. If they could stop it, she said, then the Final Battle might never happen.

"I told you," Jin laughed, playfully punching Lloyd's shoulder. "Destiny is never set in stone!"

But, as per usual, Jin, Nya, and Lloyd were not allowed to go on the mission to try and retrieve Garmadon's helmet, which was the key to stopping the clock.

"Is Kai afraid of water?" Jinlong asked Nya, who was working on some plans for an upgrade to her suit.

"Yeah, but he doesn't like it when people know that."

"Oh. When we were swimming this morning, he didn't want to get in."

"Sounds like him."

Nya seemed busy, so the dragon-girl decided to stop bothering her and go pester Lloyd instead.

"Hey, so I heard you unlocked some cool golden powers?" She wandered into the ninja's room.

"Yeah, they're pretty sick."

"E...excuse me?"

"As in, like, cool. Not actually ill."

"Oh."

After an awkward moment of silence, Jin walked over to the bunk beds, and sat on Zane's, staring at Lloyd.

"This is pretty surreal, huh? Only 2 months since this all began, and here we are, at the Final Battle."

"Hopefully not."

She shrugged. "Yeah, well, here we are, at the deciding point of Ninjago's fate. 3 months ago, I barely even knew what Ninjago was."

"3 months ago I was living on the streets and was still a kid."

Jin winced. "I mean...you still are a kid, no matter how you look at it. Mentally you're still 8, and physically you're only, like, 13 or 14."

A slight grin tugged at his lips. "Hey, I caught that. I am physically _14_, not 13. We're the same age now, don't try and change that."

Jin grinned, too. "No matter what, I'll always be your older sister. Can't change that, _kid_."

"Now you sound like Kai."

"Kai's your older sister?"

"Wha- no, I didn't mean it like that!"

The two dissolved into laughter, only to be cut short as Nya burst through the door.

"The ninja are in trouble," She cried, and immediately, all 3 were running into the jungle, leaping over fallen trees and ducking under massive leaves and branches.

"There!" Jin gasped out, pointing to a break in the foliage. "I see Garmadon!"

The Trio of Terror erupted from the shrubbery into the clearing, in battle stances, Nya with four kunai drawn.

"Father," Lloyd addressed.

"Lloyd," The Dark Lord turned to his son, an unreadable expression on his face.

"I don't want to fight you, but I will if I have to!" He declared, moving to stand in front of Lord Garmadon.

"Take the shot, Lloyd!" She heard Jay cry.

"Come on, he's vulnerable!" Kai yelled.

Lloyd looked at his father, at the abrasions and lacerations covering him. He _was _vulnerable; the ninja must have fought him earlier. But...he couldn't bring himself to do it. Not like this. Not when there was still a chance to stop the fighting.

"Let's go!" He suddenly yelled, turning to the ninja. "We have to stop the Celestial Clock!"

The ninja + co. nodded, before taking off back into the jungle. Jin heard Garmadon order his troops to catch them, but she wasn't worried. Stone Warriors moved at a snail pace compared to them.

"Wu should be waiting at the clock," Misako told them, and only then did Jinlong realize that not only was the old woman there, but she also had the helmet.

When they reached the clock, Jin's allotted usefulness ran out, and she was left standing there as the ninja scrambled about the mechanical masterpiece, trying to find the helmet's resting place. Frustration welled up in her; she was supposed to be past this! She was an equal, now, she was _helpful_.

So helpful that she resorted to kicking the base of the stupid thing, like some little kid.

"We only have 10 seconds!" Misako nearly screamed, but at that exact moment, the Stone Warriors caught up with them.

"No!" Someone screamed, and suddenly, there were blaring horns echoing all around them.

"The horns of destruction," Misako gasped. "We were too late!"

The ninja + co. moved closer to the cliff's edge, but suddenly it began to crumble, sending them, rather slowly, falling towards the sea. But Nya was still on the cliff, surrounded by Stone Warriors.

"No!" Jinlong gasped, and shifted into a dragon. She leapt from the ledge, crumbling it and sending the ninja, Wu, and Misako, into the ocean, but it propelled her back onto the cliff. She shifted back into a human, with the intention of telling Nya to run, but something collided with the back of her head with a _crack_.

The last thing she heard was the ninja, screaming worriedly from below.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong has died. She is faced with an impossible choice, one that will determine the fate of everything she's ever loved.**


	25. Dragonheart

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong must make a decision, one that will shape the outcome of her entire race.**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 25: Dragonheart**

* * *

Jinlong was floating.

There was not darkness, nor was there light. There was not sound, nor was there silence. There was simply nothing- never in her life had Jin imagined such nothingness. It was all-consuming, somehow both unsettling and comforting at the same time. The dragon herself had no physical form, she noted absently. Her thoughts were foggy, her emotions were dulled; Jinlong was not afraid, but she was aware that under normal circumstances, she'd be terrified.

As she floated there, unafraid and unfeeling, two visions appeared in front of her, their sharp clarity cutting through Jin's haze. One showed a young dragon with shining white scales lying on its side in a boat. There was an unsightly wound on its chest that wept with infection, and the beast's breaths were heaving and labored. A beautiful woman with black hair that shone like the stars sat by its side, while a girl with ginger hair cleaned the wound.

The other vision was of a girl with golden hair and freckles, tied back-to-back with another, tough-looking teenage female. The girl's golden hair was stained crimson, and Jin saw that her head was cracked open. The other girl's mouth was moving- she was talking to her injured friend.

"That's me," Jinlong whispered. "They're both me."

"You are correct, Gold Dragon."

Turning slowly, Jin saw a massive, coiled dragon behind her, its scales a deep green, its mane glistening silver, its eyes a knowing and kind blue.

"Who are you?"

"I am the Dragon Spirit. I watch over the dragons, guide them, govern them, and bring their souls to the Departed Realm when they pass."

Jinlong blinked. "So I've died, then?"

"No," The Dragon Spirit rumbled. "Not quite. But you've done something irreparable; you've separated your human and dragon sides, and fatally injured them both."

Memories, like a gentle wave, washed over the gold dragon. The Oni attacking, her brave father, Dalong being dead. She remembered charging at them, getting impaled, and her father rescuing her as the Changing Dragons fled from Huan. She recalled, albeit vaguely, the weeks spent island-hopping, searching for the mainland, her injury worsening. She remembered her people landing on the mainland's shore.

"I...what am I supposed to do? Both of my families need me."

"I'm afraid you must choose, Gold Dragon. No longer can you tarry between worlds. You must decide: will you be a dragon in Kigana, or a human in Ninjago?"

Though she had no body, it felt as if Jin's chest was being crushed, the breath driven from her shocked lungs. "But- but I am both. I am a Changing Dragon, I cannot be only one!"

The Dragon Spirit's wise eyes were deep with sorrow. "The time of the Changing Dragon is ending, Gold Dragon. Their ways will fade, their lines will end. Their time has come."

"But…"

"You must choose. Shall you live as one of the last of your kind, or fight for something new: the Way of the Ninja?"

"I…" Jin squeezed her eyes shut, images flashing through her consciousness. Images of her childhood, her family, the ninja. Images of all she'd done, how much she'd grown in the past months, of all the things she'd yet to accomplish, both as dragon and as girl. She opened her eyes and held her chin high, determination building in her. Then, as the stupidest and bravest thing she'd done, she said, "No. I will not."

The Dragon Spirit raised its head, staring at her, smoke curling up from its nose. "'No'? Gold Dragon, do you know to whom you speak? I am the Dragon Spirit; I am the ruler of your kind!"

"Then surely you'll understand," Jin, smooth confidence in her words. "I cannot abandon my family and I cannot let my people die out. I will _fight_ for them. I will fight!"

"You may choose to go to Kigana and fight for your people there, Gold Dragon, but know that your efforts will be in vain. Or you could go to Ninjago and fight for the light there, where you could happily live out the rest of your days."

"I will do neither."

Eyes narrowing, the Dragon Spirit rose, circling around Jin, its face stopping inches in front of her.

"Your insolence grows tiresome," It growled, but Jinlong did not flinch. "Do you wish for both of your bodies to die? Perhaps you'd like it if I flung your soul to the Cursed Realm; would you?"

"I will return to Ninjago," She spoke slowly, deliberately, eyes locked onto the Dragon Spirit's. "I will go to Kigana, and I will bring my people back to Ninjago with me. We _will _survive, and we _will _aid the ninja and defeat the Overlord. I will not leave either of my families."

The Dragon Spirit stared at her. She stared back. Neither blinked, neither moved, neither yielded. Never in her life and Jinlong been more afraid, but she refused to show any hint of fear, though she was certain the Dragon Spirit could sense it, anyway.

Her willpower swelled, her heart surged, and Jinlong knew the words she spoke next would determine her fate, the fate of her entire race, and the fate of things yet unseen. Whispering, her strength in her words, her power in their infliction, "I _will_." It was a promise, to herself and to the Dragon Spirit, to her people and her families, to her future and to her past.

"You will." The Dragon Spirit looked at her and almost grinned. "My, my, Gold Dragon. How much you've grown. I will grant you an item, to aid in your quest. Do not despair, Jinlong, for you are Gold."

_You are_ gold.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: The Final Battle is at hand, but the ninja are hopelessly outnumbered! What will Jin be able to do? Find out tomorrow!**


	26. Dragon Fist of Legend

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: Jinlong and Nya must do what they can to aid the ninja in battle. But first, they must save the Changing Dragons.**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 26: Dragon Fist of Legend**

* * *

With a jolt and a deep gasp, life returned to Jinlong's body. Even just lying on her side, her head resting on mud that smelled of blood, she knew that her experience had not been a dream. She was whole again, both of her bodies were with her, in Ninjago.

And she had a job to do.

Standing, she realized first of all that she was still in her dragon skin, near the Celestial Clock, but predictably, the Stone Army and Nya were long gone.

Narrowing her dark green eyes, Jinlong took off, the wind flowing through her mane. From her bird's eye view, it took very little time to locate Garmadon's camp. She dove down towards it, landing in a swirl of dust and hissing. There were notably few Stone Warriors, and even they seemed like they were trying to pack things up and leave, paying little heed to the seemingly-undead dragon.

Growling, she shot like a bullet through the camp, crashing over tents and wrecking buildings, looking for her captured friend. She did find her, near the camp's entrance, but she was not in a good way.

The teenage girl turned around to look at her with a dead expression and lifeless eyes. She had the look of a corpse, with sickly grey skin, milky white eyes rimmed by black, and a stance that brought to mind a limp puppet, held up solely by strings.

For a few moments, Jin was afraid they'd killed her. But then Nya's eyes flickered red, and a deep sound of hatred tore its way from her throat, sending shivers down the dragon's spine.

Dark Matter, she remembered. Nya's not immune to it...how can I fix her, then?

The corrupted girl lunged forward with an animalistic snarl, and Jinlong leapt 6 feet into the air, anchoring herself there, thinking hard. She was immune because she was the Gold Dragon, and had some Golden Power in her, or something. Not enough to use, to try and cure her. So then what could she do?

I will grant you an item, to aid in your quest. Do not despair, Jinlong, for you are Gold.

With a deep breath, she landed behind Nya, and shifted into a human. Her friend whirled around and brandished a long chain with a spiked metal ball on the end. Yikes.

"Hey, Nya, look! I'm alive!" The dragon-girl cried, leaping over the weapon as it was swung. "I hope I didn't worry you too bad!"

Nya growled, yanking the chain back, then throwing it forward again. Jin ducked under it, then spun out of the way as the ball swung back. They danced like this, one never hitting the other, weaving and ducking and spinning. It was fun, almost; sort of like when they would train together. Sort of like when Jin was little, and would spar with her siblings.

Of course, though, Nya was evil and the ninja were unaccounted for and her people were stranded and Ninjago was about to die. That kind of ruined her fun.

Then, Jinlong managed to get behind Nya, buying her just enough time to slip her grimy fingers into the pockets of her now-torn cargo pants.

So the Dragon Spirit made good on that, she thought giddily as a thrill of adrenaline shot through her when her hand made contact with the item. She whipped it out, wrapped it around Nya's neck, and grinned.

A second later, the grey bled from the girl's skin, leaving only the natural semi-light brown left. She coughed, clutching at the thing still wrapped around her throat, and Jin released her, gliding around to face her friend.

"Hiya," She greeted, smiling broadly.

A look of pure joy spread across Nya's now-lively face, and she leapt to embrace the dragon-girl.

"You're alive," She cried. "Thank the First Spinjitzu Master! I was so scared!"

"Yep," Jinlong said proudly as the girls stepped apart. "And I need your help."

"Wait- but how'd you free me? Garmadon used Dark Matter."

The golden-haired teenager held up a small, golden necklace. "Gold."

"Whoa. So where are the ninja? Or Garmadon?"

"I don't know," Jin admitted, putting on the necklace. "But we can help them and we have to help my people to do it. I need your help."

"Your people?" Nya repeated. "The dragons? How will we get there?"

"I'm gonna make a portal."

"Wait, but-"

"I've got gold," Jin interrupted. "Gold makes me stronger. I can do it."

Shifting to a dragon, Jinlong stared hard at a patch of ground in front of her. She imagined not Huan, because that was not where she needed to go, but her family, her friends, her people. All the Changing Dragons. Soon she could feel them, all gathered on one shore, on mainland Kigana. There! There was where she needed to go!

A bright blue, swirling portal appeared, and Jin shot a look at her friend. Nya nodded, somehow understanding, and hopped on her back. Then, the dragon and the girl dove forward, disappearing with the portal.

oOo

A rush of warm air and familiar scents washed over Jinlong as she erupted from a portal on a sandy beach. There were gasps and snarls, and she turned slowly to look over the entirety of her race.

"Jinlong?" A beautiful, woeful woman with dark hair and wet, sparkling eyes asked in disbelief.

Nya leapt off and Jin shifted into her human skin, standing proudly in front of her people.

"Hey, Mother," She greeted. "How're you?"

"Jinlong!" The dragon-woman rushed forward and embraced her daughter, lifting her from the ground.

"Wait, Tianlong!" An old man, Yinglong the Eagle Dragon, one of the leaders, yelled. "Jinlong is dead! That is an oni!"

"How dare you?!" Tianlong screeched, dropping Jin and turning around. "You think a mother does not know her own child?!"

"Hey, stop!" Jinlong yelled, rushing in between them. "I'm not an oni, and I'm not dead! I'm here to save you all."

"You died last night," Her mother whispered. "We threw your body into the sea. We'd just landed her, on the mainland."

"I'm alive and kicking, I promise," The dragon-girl said. "And I spent the past 2 months in Ninjago, with a team of ninja entrusted with its protection. While I was there, I saw the rise of the Green Ninja, the savior of that realm. As we speak, he is fighting the Final Battle, but he needs our help!"

"You lie," Nailong the Cow Dragon accused. "You were in the grasp of a fever, that's all."

A smug grin grew over Jin's lips. "I thought you'd say that. Nya!"

The black-haired girl looked at her.

"This is one of my best friends from Ninjago, Nya," The Gold Dragon said. "The sister of one of the ninja, a skilled fighter, and clever inventor. She is living proof."

"Hi," Nya greeted, waving at the crowd. "I'm Nya Smith. I don't really know what Jin's planning, but I'd recommend trusting her. She's up to something."

"What are you planning?" Yinglong asked. "How, and why, would we help this 'Green Ninja'?"

"Well, he is the grandson of the First Spinjitzu Master, or the Half Child, as you call him," Jin said. "And the FSM created our kind, as well as Ninjago. And if we don't, then we will die out. Kigana had no future for us."

"How would you know?!" Yulong the Fish Dragon challenged.

"Because the Dragon Spirit told me," Jinlong stated boldly. "Believe me or don't, but it's true. If we stay here, the oni will kill us and our race will die. But if we move to Ninjago and fight to save it, then we will live on."

Yinglong frowned, clearly in thought, and Jin nearly burst.

"We have to go!" She cried. "The Dark Lord has an army, and the ninja can't beat the whole thing! They need an army on their side, like us!"

"We will go," Liteng the Maroon Flying Dragon, the younger, female leader announced suddenly. "Jinlong is correct. The oni shall kill us if we remain. We have known it since we were attacked."

"Yeah!" Jin cheered, leaping into the air in joy. "Great! Come on, then! Leave the boats, we don't need 'em! Let's go!"

"But our kind has always lived here!" Yulong protested.

"Not anymore!" The dragon-girl cried. "Come on! To Ninjago! To the Green Ninja!"

The dragons began to shift, and Nya got back onto Jinlong's back. A portal was soon made, and the last of the Changing Dragons left Kigana, never to return.

oOo

They arrived in the sky, which was black as night with bolts of purple lightning. Jinlong, flying high, led them. She could smell Garmadon, but it was different. The blob thing from before, she realized with a jolt, had possessed him and turned him into a massive, misshapen dragon. Not the snake-like kind, like Changing Dragons, but with four clawed legs and outstretched wings.

Diving down and cracking the street when she landed, Jin shifted into a human, accidentally tossing Nya onto the ground. She helped her up.

"The Stone Warriors will try to kill the ninja," She yelled, over the roaring wind and crashing thunder. "The Dark Lord used Dark Matter and will try to corrupt you. Gold can reverse the effects. The teens in bright colors are the ninja. Alright?"

"Where are they?" Someone asked.

"Me and Nya will find the ninja," She called. "You all just focus on the Stone Army. They're not hard to miss; either side! Let's go, now! Vanquish evil!"

With her cheesy last line, Jinlong and Nya took off towards the massive dark tower, as the dragons flew overhead. It was probably the coolest thing Jin had ever done and the coolest she'd ever looked.

They soon met the wall of Stone Warriors, grunting and growling. Further ahead, likely surrounded, Jin could hear the ninja.

Summoning her strength and courage, she leapt up, onto the head of a warrior, then onto the next one. Nya followed suit, and they were soon running on top of the army as the Changing Dragons attacked from behind.

In a clearing of warriors stood the ninja, surrounding Lloyd, some pretty 'sick' elemental swords drawn.

With a cry, Jinlong shifted into a dragon, tossing the Stone Warriors aside, freeing a path for the ninja. She shifted back, dodging a sword swipe, but still earning herself a gash right under her left eye.

"Jin! Nya!" The cried, relief evident in their voices.

"Where-how-"

"No time!" Nya cut her brother off. "We've gotta get Lloyd to the top. Jin's family are the dragons and they're on our side. Let's go, come on!"

She charged up the stairs on the side of the building, and the ninja, plus Jin, followed. Lloyd was limping, though, and there were bandages around his right knee.

They had gone almost of the way unopposed, when the general of the Stone Army met them from a corner.

"Go, Lloyd!" Jay shouted. "We can take him!"

"But-"

"Go!"

The Green Ninja limped, alone, up the tower as the ninja, Nya, and Jin dueled with the four-armed stone man. While the ninja had him distracted, Nya and Jin, in tandem, rushed at the wall, leapt against it, and barrelled, feet first, into the general's head. The force was enough to send him off balance, toppling over the edge, taking the girls with him.

"Nya!" Kai cried, but his sister had caught the ledge and Jin, her hand.

They were hoisted up just as an explosion of golden light shook the tower, sending all of the ninja, and the girls, falling.

Only to land on a familiar leather saddle. The Ultra Dragon, along with Wu and Misako, had caught them.

Jinlong laughed, a wild sound, as they watched Lloyd- now entirely golden- duel to foul beast that was once his father.

The dark dragon enveloped the boy in darkness, and everyone gasped. He hadn't...lost, had he?

No. There was just a pin-prick at first, but then a burst of light followed, so bright that it drowned out everything else. A feeling of pure euphoria, pure gold rippled through Jin, and she knew that Lloyd had won.

oOo

When Jin awoke, she was staring at a marvellously blue sky, free of clouds. She sat up, looking around, and saw Nya, then Jay, then Zane and Cole and Kai, Wu and Misako, and her dear, dear friend, Lloyd. Her friends. Her family, almost.

"Guys?" Lloyd spoke up, almost confused. "Guys, we- we won!"

No. Not almost. They were her family.

Laughing, Jin sprang up and tackle-hugged the blond boy, tears of joy slipping from her eyes. Suddenly, the air was knocked from her lungs as the rest of the team, and Nya(who was actually part of the team, she supposed) followed suit, and they were all just laughing and crying, hugging each other.

"We did it!" Jay cheered. "You did it, Lloyd!"

"L-Lloyd?"

Craning her neck, Jin searched for the owner of the unfamiliar voice. She saw an old man, with grey hair and grey eyes, but there was something very familiar about him.

"D...dad?" Lloyd whispered, and then, louder, "Dad!"

In an impressive feat of strength, he threw everyone off on him, and ran to the old man, embracing him tightly.

There was a large hand on her shoulder, and she turned around to see her father, smiling proudly. Behind him was her mother, Maolong, Yinlian, Senshe, and all of her people.

Behind her, her human family laughed in joy, while in front of her, her dragon family smiled through sorrow and tears.

And that, Jin realized, was true joy.

* * *

**Announcer voice: Next time, on Way of the Dragon: With the Final Battle won, and the Changing Dragons saved, Jinlong must now face her greatest challenge: saying goodbye to her friends.**


	27. Enter the Dragon

**Announcer voice: Today, on Way of the Dragon: The Final Battle has been won and Ninjago is at peace. However, Jinlong has yet to face her greatest challenge: saying goodbye.**

**Jinlong voice: Chapter 27: Enter the Dragon**

* * *

There was a massive explosion high above them, sparkling and bright gold. Jin closed her eyes, grinning up at the sky, imagining the golden sparks raining down on her.

"It's a lot cooler with your eyes open, you know."

The dragon-girl opened her eyes and smiled at Nya, who was sitting next to her on the grass, smirking.

"Yeah," Was all Jin could really say. Words had been hard that night, although she wasn't sure why. The Dark Lord was vanquished, Garmadon was good, everyone was alive, but- she _was _happy, but words just weren't working with her, leading her to have spent most of the evening as a dragon, entertaining little kids.

Maybe it was because she was so happy, or maybe it was because she knew she'd never see Kigana again. Maybe because her older brother was dead. Maybe because she knew, after tonight, she'd go with her people into the mountains, and have to leave the ninja. Whatever the reason, her throat closed up and her eyes watered whenever the dragon-girl tried to speak.

"Jinlong," Senshe the Forest Snake Dragon, one of her best friends from Huan, cried, running up from behind her. "We are about to begin Breaking the City Gates. Come and join!"

"It will be fun with so many people," Yinlian the Silver-Faced Dragon, her other friend, added.

"I- yeah," The Gold Dragon nodded, standing up, before helping Nya to her feet.

"Is everything alright?" Yinlian asked. "You've been very quiet all evening."

"Yeah, I'm good, it's just-" Her throat constricted and her eyes stung. "I'm just a little- I dunno. I'm good."

They didn't seem to buy it, but thankfully, the game was about to begin, so they let her off the hook.

Yinlian was right- it _was _fun with more people. Granted, all the ninja were on one team, so it was a little unfair, and when Maolong called Lloyd over, of course, everyone on their team went toppling over.

"City Gates did not break!" Maolong cried triumphantly, standing up. "We all fell, but the City Gates did not break!"

"Yes they did," Kai called from the other line. "I saw, you let go of Jin's hand!"

"I did not!"

"It's not worth fighting over," Lloyd laughed. "It's fine, I'll join their team."

Before he could, however, a news anchor came over the PH system, and all throughout the hidden speakers in the park, his voice was heard.

"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, humans and dragons," He called enthusiastically. "We'd like to thank you once more for coming to our celebration. One week ago, the Golden Ninja, Lloyd Garmadon, defeated the Overlord and saved our city!"

A near-deafening cheer rose up, and the blond boy's cheeks turned pink.

"And so, to honor him, we'd like to present our finest firework display ever, courtesy of Dr. Julien: The Golden Ninja!"

And then started something that didn't even look possible(then again, what did Jin know about physics?). A single firework launched up, bursting into the green shape of a boy. Another, far larger, one went next, in the likeness of a massive, purple dragon. And then they started _moving_. The dragon's wings flapped, the boy's arms moved, and they appeared to be fighting.

Then, the green one fizzled out. She heard some of the little kids gasp as the dragon swelled in size, but then, an impossibly bright firework exploded from within it, showering the smoky night sky with gold, and she could vaguely make out the shape of a ninja.

"Wow," Lloyd breathed. "Did I really look that cool?"

"Nah," Jin bumped his shoulder playfully. "Less explosions."

He chuckled, and suddenly there were tears running down the dragon-girl's freckled cheeks. She was sobbing, openly, _loudly_, desperately trying to wipe the tears from her eyes and quiet down. This was Lloyd's night, and she would not ruin it.

"Jin! What's wrong?"

"I-I don't _know_," She managed to get out between sobs.

"Is it about your brother?" Lloyd asked quietly. Jin had told him just yesterday, when he'd asked if all her family was safe.

"Maybe," She sniffled, finally quieting. "I've- I...I am happy, but I can't seem to speak and- and…"

"Is it because you're leaving?"

Slowly, Jin nodded. "I- I think so. We're dragons, we have to, we can't live in the city, but I _don't want to_! I want to stay with you all, but I also want to be with my people!"

He smiled. "I- oh, gosh, I feel so stupid. I want to help you, because you always helped me, but I really don't know how. But we will see each other again, Jin. We can visit, and go out to get milkshakes, or watch a movie or whatever."

"With the whole team?"

"Oh, yeah," He grinned. "And my dad, and Wu, and my mom. _Everyone_."

"We're gonna get kicked out," She laughed, wiping her eyes.

"Extra points if we do."

"Jinlong?"

The dragon-girl turned to see her mother and father. "Y-yeah?"

"We must go soon, darling," Her mother said softly. "We want to reach the mountains by sunrise."

"Alright," Jinlong nodded. "I'll meet up with you in a second."

She turned back to Lloyd, and pulled something out of her pocket.

"I had to go back to the Bounty on the Dark Island to get this," She told him. "I've been working on it for a while, and I hope you like it."

She held out a long knitted scarf, bright gold in color, the yarn shimmering in the glow of the fairy lights above them.

"Aw, thanks!" Lloyd cried, taking it and wrapping it around his neck. "This is great!"

"You'd better wear it," Jin grinned, then turned around to see the rest of the ninja+co.

"Didn't think you could sneak off without saying goodbye, didja?" Cole chuckled.

A wide smile spread across the dragon-girl's face.

"You guys…" She took a deep breath. "You guys are the best! You're like family to me."

She hugged Jay, Nya, Kai, Zane, Cole, Misako, Wu, and Garmadon.

"Thanks for the yarn, Jay. Thanks for the boots, Nya. Thanks for the bantering, Kai. Thanks for the cooking lessons, Zane. Thanks for the dragon talks, Cole. Thanks for your son, Misako. Thanks for accepting me, Wu. And, uh, Garmadon. I never really got to know you, but I'm sure I will. I look forward to it."

She stepped back, wiped her eyes, and took off towards the group of dragons. She stopped, though, and turned back to face her found family, illuminated by the lamps above them, strung between the trees.

"And don't think you can get rid of me so easily," She called. "I'll be seeing you all again! I promise!"

And then, with all that was left of her people, she shifted into a dragon, and flew off into the night.

* * *

**Thanks so much for reading this! KitKat, I'm sorry I butchered it so badly. I might write a good version someday. **


End file.
